- Potential offer at a 24% premium to Friday's close
- Inclusive Capital is already a shareholder
- Countryside shares were down almost 50% this year
Shares in Essex-based house builder Countryside Properties (CSP) topped the FTSE 250 index, leaping 29% to 308p on the revelation US investment firm Inclusive Capital had made a potential bid approach.
The approach, actually the second by In-Cap, requested that Countryside management engage with the company, but so far the developer has refused to engage or provide access to its books.
SUBSTANTIAL PREMIUM
In-Cap already owns 9.2% of Countryside’s shares, making it one of the firm’s top stakeholders, and argues its approach is in good faith.
Its possible offer of 295p per share in cash constitutes around a 24% premium to Friday’s closing price of 238.6p and values the firm’s equity at roughly £1.2 billion.
The San Francisco-based investment group says it invests in companies which offer ‘compelling value propositions and generate measurable positive impact on the environment and society’ in order to ‘drive superior long-term financial returns’.
It calls its latest offer ‘a compelling proposition for Countryside shareholders, providing a unique opportunity to realise their investments at a highly attractive premium’.
The firm goes on to say the possible offer ‘would also provide shareholders with transaction certainty against the continued and recently increased market volatility, macro-economic uncertainty and significant business risks facing the Company’.
BURNISHING ITS CREDENTIALS
Countryside makes a big deal of its approach to sustainability and says it has ‘looked closely at where we make the most impact as a business on our communities, society and the environment’.
Its focus over the next five to 10 years is on its operations, leaving a positive legacy in communities and ‘supporting our people so they can continue to deliver beautiful places that people love’.
Earlier this month the developer posted a pre-tax loss of £181.5 million for the six months to March against a profit of £85.4 million the previous year.
Revenues were around 9% lower than the year-ago period at £602 million due to a 24% drop in first-half completions after on-site delays caused by issues with timber-frame and roofing contractors.
Before today’s rally the shares had lost almost half of their value this year.
