A story involving the Daily Telegraph newspaper, haulage company the Stobart Group and a £140m commercial property deal has been doing the rounds, raising a number of questions and eyebrows and receiving few answers.
Four years ago, Stobart Group chairman Rodney Baker-Bates negotiated a £140m commercial property portfolio sale to Andrew Tinkler, his chief executive, and William Stobart, Tinkler’s brother-in-law. The pair used WADI Properties as the vehicle for the investment. Soon after the deal was concluded, investment bank Lehman Brothers collapsed, heralding the start of the credit crunch. WADI Properties then breached its loan-to-value covenants after the portfolio’s value declined. Terms on the covenants were renegotiated, but at a price.
At the time of the sale, shareholders had been told that the Westbury property portfolio had no place in the Stobart Group, which was intent on transforming itself into an ‘integrated rail, road and sea logistics and transport business’.
Now, Baker-Bates is seeking to buy back the portfolio. The question being raised by the Daily Telegraph is why there is a need to now buy it back when, four years ago, it and its commercial property were deemed to have no place in the company’s structure. Knight Frank, residential and commercial property specialists, will be valuing the deal, but reports say this valuation may not be carried out by the time shareholders are asked to approve the deal.
Stobart Group issued a juggernaut of a response to the Telegraph’s article, stating it ‘believes the content of the article to be entirely false’, emanating from ‘a disgruntled individual who has made false claims against the company in the past’.
The Financial Services Authority is reportedly reviewing the case after being contacted by Cumbria police. The regulator for all UK financial services is yet to confirm if it will launch a full inquiry.
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