
Walker Crips plans expansion after 'substantial gain' on Liontrust shares
Walker Crips Group has made £6.6m after crystallising convertible loan stock issued to it as part of Liontrust's 2012 acquisition of its asset management arm.
The group transferred convertible unsecured loan stock (CULS) with a nominal value of £3.03m into ordinary Liontrust shares of 1p each, before selling those shares at 217.6p per share for a total of £6.6m.
Walker Crips was issued with convertible Liontrust stock worth a nominal £4m in April 2012 as part of Liontrust's acquisition of Walker Crips Asset Managers (WCAM).
Liontrust shares have risen substantially since the deal, climbing 129% in the past year alone to trade at almost 229p as of the close on 6 September.
"The opportunity to convert the vast majority of the remaining CULS and sell the shares at a price substantially above the conversion price has allowed the company to realise an overall gain on the disposal of WCAM which is substantially in excess of the headline value announced in April 2012 and to strengthen further the company's balance sheet and financial flexibility," said Walker Crips CEO Rodney FitzGerald.
"The net proceeds of the sale of the shares will be used to drive our continuing strategy of growth and expansion."
Walker Crips previously converted and sold a nominal £900,000 of convertible stock at a price of 175p per share last March.
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