Warren James ups Pinewood stake
THE owners of Stockport-based jewellery business Warren James have incrased their stake in Pinewood Shepperton to over 19%.
The business, which is currently the subject of a takeover bid from Manchester-based property giant Peel, revealed to the stock exchange that the amount of shares in the company now held by Warren James Holdings Ltd stands at 19.5%.
Shares are also trading at 210p, which is 5% higher than Peel’s current offer price for the company of 200p, but 3p lower than at the start of the day.
Warren James Holdings has issued a statement saying that it had “no current intention of making an offer for Pinewood Shepperton”.
“Warren James Holdings Limited has been a shareholder of Pinewood since 2007. Its recent increase in shareholding represents an extension of its ongoing strategy of building a long-term strategic minority holding in Pinewood,” the company said.
However, the fact that shares are still trading above Peel’s offer price suggests that investors believe that Warren James’s owners, John Coulter and Ann Jones, may seek a higher price for the business than is currently on the table.
Peel Group yesterday declared its offer for Pinewood Shepperton unconditional after the Office of Fair Trading confirmed that it does not intend to to refer the proposed deal to the Competition Commission.
The OFT had looked into the proposed deal to ascertain whether Peel’s takeover of Pinewood would lessen competition for the provision of TV studio space in the wake of Peel’s ownership of Mediacity:UK in Salford Quays.
Peel’s current offer values Pinewood at £92.4m, or £96.1m including a final dividend.
Its offer has the backing of Pinewood’s management and a total of 63.3% of shareholders. However, Crystal Amber Fund’s backing for the deal was conditional on no other offer of 250p or more emerging for the business.
If Warren James Holdings were to increase its stake in Pinewood to more than 25% it could potentially block Peel’s offer and remain as a significant minority shareholder in the company.
Warren James is a 120-strong store chain which had revenues of £43.6m and pre-tax profits of £11.9m in the 12 months to March 2010. During the year, the owners paid themselves a dividend of £30m.
Pinewood has studios in Pinewood in Buckinghamshire, and Shepperton and Teddington in Middlesex. The 75-year-old production site has more than 34 stages and five television studios.
