James Cropper puts up shares as collateral

JAMES Cropper, the non-executive chairman of the Kendal-based papermaker which carries his name, has pledged 17% of his shares in the company as security for its bank loans.

Mr Cropper, the great great grandson of the founder James Cropper, has put 80,180 shares in James Cropper Speciality Papers up as collateral to Barclays Nominees, according to a stock market announcement.

At the latest price of 79p the stock is worth around £63,000. Mr Cropper holds nearly half a million shares in the business, or 0.9% of the company’s share capital.

The 163-year-old business said it made a half-year loss of £261,000 when it unveiled interim figures in November.

The loss compared to the £1.26m profit it made for the same period in 2007 and came despite turnover increasing by 5% to £37.7m in the six months to September 2008.

The company said it had been hit by a 150% increase in the cost of gas and Mr Cropper told shareholders there was “no doubt” that trading conditions were challenging.

The company had borrowings of £7.1m during the six months, compared with £5.3m last time.