Countrywide’s £38m sale of Lambert Smith Hampton has been delayed due to what the company has called “logistical difficulties” in receiving payment for the business.
The London-listed property group’s shares were down roughly 5% in early trading after it confirmed that it was acting “urgently” to get the deal back on track.
Countrywide struck a deal in November to sell its LSH consultancy to John Bengt Moeller, owner of Great Global Holdings, a retail-focused commercial real estate firm. Countrywide shareholders approved the sale in December.
But Countrywide now says it has been unable to secure the necessary payment to wrap up the deal, delaying its completion owing to “John Bengt Moeller being indisposed during January and due to logistical difficulties relating to the transfer of the requisite completion monies”.
“We have been reassured by Mr Moeller that completion is imminent,” Countrywide said. “The company continues to work with Mr Moeller to resolve this situation urgently and is taking all necessary steps to achieve completion as soon as possible. The company will update shareholders as appropriate in due course.”
City dealmakers said it was uncommon for a company to have to announce such a delay to a transaction.
“It is unusual,” said a mergers and acquisitions adviser. “It’s clearly a material delay. They’re saying they’ve been reassured, but that’s not a guarantee. The share price is down a bit, so people are concerned.”
Another source who has spoken with Countrywide about the matter said the company was confident the deal would still go ahead.
When the sale of LSH was announced, Ezra Nahome, chief executive of the business, described Bengt Moeller as a “low key” investor in an interview with EG.
“In the UK, we have become moribund by Brexit but a lot of other people are looking beyond it and looking at opportunities in the UK,” Nahome added. “Despite the economic uncertainty, with transactional market volumes and earnings depressed, it is an opportune time to make a mark in our sector.”
Countrywide executive chairman Peter Long said at the time of deal being agreed that LSH had faced “a challenging market” and that its financial position had deteriorated.
“It has also eaten into valuable management time, so it made absolute sense to seek a buyer for the business,” Long added. “It has always operated as a standalone business so carving it out from the rest of the group will not be difficult.”
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