INSTITUTIONAL investor group Pirc has criticised transport firm Stobart’s plan to buy up property from a company controlled by its own directors.
Pirc said shareholders should abstain from a binding vote on the deal, due on 13 February, as it presents a conflict of interest, and questions remain about how Stobart will tackle the debt it takes on as part of the sale.
Stobart announced two weeks ago that it plans to buy 18 properties from WA Developments for £12.35m plus £88.85m of debt.
WA Developments and its subsidiary WADI Properties is controlled by two Stobart directors: chief executive Andrew Tinkler and chief operating officer William Stobart.
Pirc points out that Stobart is paying more than the total independent valuation of £93.5m, and that “the independent directors have provided no basis to their conclusion that the acquisition had a fair price”.
The portfolio is a mix of industrial, commercial, retail and residential properties located mostly in the south east of England.
WA Developments and its subsidiary WADI Properties is controlled by two Stobart directors: chief executive Andrew Tinkler and chief operating officer William Stobart. The firms share two other directors.
Stobart’s independent directors said at the time that, on the advice of Investec, they considered the deal to be in the interests of shareholders.
