Why this pawnbroker’s shares are now worth nothing
Troubled pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond requested its shares be suspended from trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).
The company made the announcement after its lenders said they would not be able to support the management turnaround plan for the business.
However, Albemarle & Bond insisted that the company's options remained open, including the sale of its businesses at a level below the current level of financial of financial indebtedness.
The pawnbroker in a statement said:
The Board is continuing to work with the Company's lenders on possible alternative options for stakeholders.
The company's current covenant deferral agreement expires on 31 March 2014. The Company's lenders have indicated they may be willing to extend this agreement in certain circumstances, but if they do not then the Company could be required to repay its outstanding loan facilities and although the company has sufficient cash headroom to meet current trading requirements, if the entire debt facility became repayable it would not be able to meet this liability.
The Sunday Times recently reported that one of the world's biggest investors in cryptocurrency Bitcoin is seeking to take control of the pawnbroker.
Fortress Investment Group is understood to have made a move to buy more than £50m of debt Albemarle & Bond owes to its banks, Barclays and Lloyds Banking Group.
The pawnbroker, which has over 200 shops on the high street, has endured a painful year due a sharp fall in the price of gold.