Market roundup: Boparan closes on 100% control; WH Ireland expects growth and bid for Individual Restaurant Company

RANJIT Boparan will force the remaining Northern Foods shareholders to give up their interest in the firm after securing more than 90% backing for his takeover.

The poultry entrepreneur has issued compulsory acquisition notices to shareholders who have so far not taken up his 73p per share offer which will allow him to take complete ownership of the firm next month.

Mr Boparan already has control of 91.27% of Northern Foods shares either through ownership or from having had his offer accepted.

West Midlands-based Mr Boparan triumphed in a battle with Irish food firm Greencore to take control of Northern Foods with a bid valuing the company at around £342m.

Last year he bought the iconic Harry Ramsden chain of fish and chip restaurants from Sweden-based private equity firm EQT Partners.

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STOCKBROKER WH Ireland, which has operations in Yorkshire, is expecting to see growth in the small-cap market sector as a result changes in tax rules, chairman Rupert Lowe was telling shareholders today.

Speaking at the Manchester-based firm’s annual meeting Mr Lowe said Ireland was, after a challenging time, looking agead with “cautious optimism.”

Ireland which has offices in Leeds and Birmingham, Scotland, Bristol, Cardiff and London, said that since last September it has raised £50m in 19 equity raisings for corporate clients – compared with just £20m over the last two years.

Mr Lowe said this points to a positive future: “This strength in fundraising ability together with the Government’s recent initiatives announced in the budget, on enhancing EIS and VCT reliefs, promise more activity at the smaller end of the equity market where WH Ireland is particularly strong. 

“We expect good quality small companies increasingly to source their finance for future growth from the equity capital markets and we are well placed to provide the conduit for our private client investors to take advantage of the best opportunities.”

Mr Lowe said the company has been operating profitably since last September, and had strengthened its balance sheet through realising “certain of its historical investments”.

While reducing overheads, it has invested in new hires in a number of key areas such as equity sales, bond trading and equity market making, he added.

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INDIVIDUAL Restaurant Company’s chief executive Steven Walker has teamed up with major shareholder and Iceland founder Malcolm Walker to launch a bid to take the company private.

The pair have formed a new company, W2D2, alongside Tarsem Dhaliwel and Paul Dawes to launch a bid for the restaurant chain operator which values the business at £5.67m.

The consortium already owns just under 32m shares in IRC, or 53.63% of the company and is therefore in effective control of the business.

Its all-cash offer of 9.5p per IRC share is 1p higher than IRC’s closing price of 8.5p yesterday.

W2D2 said that those shareholders who do not wish to take on the cash offer but retain their shares can do so and will retain anti-dilution, dividends and exit rights.

However, if it gains acceptance from more than 90% of remaining shareholders it will exercise its rights to compulsorily acquire all of the remaining shares.

IRC currently operates 33 restaurants across the UK – 22 under the Piccolino brand and 11 Restaurant Bar & Grill outlets. It gained its listing in December 2006 by way of a reverse takeover of Bank Restaurants which valued the combined business at around £40.8m. This included a £14.5m valuation on the equity of IRC’s shares and the assumption of more than £17.7m of IRC’s debts.

The consortium said that IRC was no longer suited to being listed on the stockmarket and that the business needs additional capital if it is to recommence its growth plans.

W2D2 chairman Malcolm Walker said: “IRC is a business which Tarsem Dhaliwal, Steven Walker, Paul Dawes and I have been involved with over many years.  We feel that the best option for the business is to take the company private in order to help take IRC back to growth.

“Tarsem Dhaliwal, Steven Walker, Paul Dawes and I all believe that we as individuals and as a team are well placed to give the business the best chance of positive growth in the future.”

IRC’s current chairman Robert Breare said that the board had not been able to give a firm recommendation for W2D2’s offer.

However, he added that shareholders “should be given the opportunity to consider the offer in light of their own circumstances”.
He added that the cash offer “represents a premium to the market price and, given the controlling stake already held by the consortium, such a liquidity event might not be available in the future on similar terms.”