Find a buyer, Countryside’s lead investor tells board
Countryside Partnerships has been urged to find a buyer by its largest investor.
The instruction comes after the housebuilder rebuffed a £1.5bn approach last week from Inclusive Capital Partners.
Now Browning West, a Los Angeles-based hedge fund with a 15.3% stake in Countryside, has called for the board to conduct a review of the group, which the investor said would perform better if it was privately owned or part of a larger business. It claimed actions by the board had led to a “significant destruction of shareholder value”.
Countryside Partnerships has been urged to find a buyer by its largest investor.
The instruction comes after the housebuilder rebuffed a £1.5bn approach last week from Inclusive Capital Partners.
Now Browning West, a Los Angeles-based hedge fund with a 15.3% stake in Countryside, has called for the board to conduct a review of the group, which the investor said would perform better if it was privately owned or part of a larger business. It claimed actions by the board had led to a “significant destruction of shareholder value”.
In-Cap effectively launched a hostile takeover last week after it broke cover with a 295p-per-share take-private bid that had been twice rejected by Countryside’s board. The San Francisco-based “social investment company” has built up a 9.2% stake.
Usman Nabi, founder of Browning West, called In-Cap a “credible bidder” that should be included in a sales process, but he did not say the board should accept the mooted offer.
Jeffrey Ubben, founder and managing partner of In-Cap, said: “We have attempted to engage with the board of Countryside in good faith and have been rebuffed each time despite offering to provide selling shareholders an attractive selling option at a meaningful premium. A robust auction process, with proper due diligence, will allow In-Cap to put its best foot forward. All other shareholders can decide for themselves from the fully informed options in front of them.”
Countryside has failed to follow rivals in capitalising on the recent housing boom, with its share price down by almost a half this year. The fall reached a five-year low after the departure of chief executive Iain McPherson in January after a profit warning. His exit was accompanied by Browning West appointing a representative to the board.
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Image © Countryside
