A new investor in property financier Urban Exposure has called for the immediate repayment of a controversial loan made between a subsidiary of the company and Urban Exposure Philanthropy, a charitable organisation which formed a core part of the company’s charitable endeavours, run by its chief executive.
Christopher Mills is founder of Harwood Capital Management, investment adviser for the Oryx International Growth Fund, which earlier this month took a 3.84% stake in Urban Exposure.
Mills said he and colleagues are “extremely concerned” about issues of disclosure around the £1.2m loan revealed by Urban Exposure, adding that it has raised questions about “what the board thinks it’s doing” and calling for it to be “repaid immediately”.
Urban Exposure said earlier this month that the loan was to Urban Exposure Philanthropy to finance the refurbishment of a nursery school in south east London for underprivileged childrenn. Of the original £1.2m loan, £907,000 is outstanding.
Liberum Capital, the company’s nominated adviser, has said it was not consulted about the loan – which came to light when the 2019 accounts were being prepared – and that shareholder approval should have been sought.
Urban Exposure has said it “is not currently expecting to take any immediate action to remedy this matter” but that its board decided an inquiry should be held by a third party. It added that its board “will determine the appropriate timing for seeking full repayment of the loan in due course, and will provide a further update in due course”.
A spokesman for Urban Exposure directed EG to the company’s earlier statement, and said any further updates will be made via stock exchange announcements. Urban Exposure is due to publish full-year audited results on 28 May.
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