Belvoir Lettings in hostile bid for south-west rival
Grantham-based property giant Belvoir Lettings has had an approach to merge with The Property Franchise Group (TPFG) rebuffed after the Bournemouth firm said any deal “would not be in the best interests of shareholders”.
The deal, which values TPFG at £33.7m, “would be in the best long term interests of both companies and their respective shareholders” says Belvoir.
However, in reply, TPFG issued a statement saying: “The Board maintains its position that the Possible Merger Offer would not be in the best interests of TPFG’s shareholders.”
It added: “A further announcement will be made in due course outlining the reasons why the Board believes that the Possible Merger Offer would not be in the best interests of the company’s shareholders as a whole.”
TPFG said it has received a previous offer from Belvoir, but also turned that one down.
Founded in 1995 and listed on AIM in 2012, Belvoir operates a nationwide property franchise group with 300 offices across four brands offering a range of specialist services in property rental, property management, residential lettings, buy to let, property sales and property-related financial services. With its head office in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Belvoir manages 58,000 properties and reported revenue of £9.9m in 2016.
TPFG operates a property franchise business managing 50,000 properties through over 370 offices and six franchise brands: Martin & Co, CJ Hole, Parkers, Ellis & Co, EweMove and Whitegates. TPFG reported revenues of £8.3 million, EBITDA (before exceptional costs) of £3.9m and profit before tax of £3.2m for the year ended 31 December 2016. For the six months ended 30 June 2017, TPFG reported a profit before tax of £2.1m on total revenues of £4.7m and net assets of £12.9m.
