GPG sells Turners Auctions stake
Investment company Guinness Peat Group has sold out of car auction company Turners Auctions – the first move in its plan to sell down its asset portfolio.
Investment company Guinness Peat Group has sold out of car auction company Turners Auctions – the first move in its plan to sell down its asset portfolio.
The move from a 19.4% stake to no shares in Turners followed the sale of 5.3 million Turners shares in a one-off market transaction.
GPG this year said it had decided to wind up its investment portfolio by selling assets, formed on the back of intense pressure from local investors.
New Zealand assets include a 35% stake in insurance company Tower, a 65% stake in fruit and produce company Turners and Growers.
Global thread maker Coats Group is the one subsidiary GPG said it will hold on to – a strong performance from which helped boost GPG’s interim profit last month.
Operating profit was £66 million, more than double last year’s £31 million, with a bottom line profit of £17 million, or 72p per share, compared to £12 million (47p per share) the previous year.
Coats Group, contributed $US36.9 million (£23 million), notwithstanding a $US6.9 million worsening of foreign exchange losses.
GPG chairman Rob Campbell said with the results announcement the board had adopted a policy of migrating cash generated from disposals of Australian and UK assets to New Zealand dollars to balance exposure to currency risk.
Shares in Turners Auctions fell 10c of 6.9% $1.35 after the sell-down was revealed this morning.
Shares in GPG remain unchanged at 59c.
Georgina Bond
Fri, 23 Sep 2011
Fri, 23 Sep 2011
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GPG sells Turners Auctions stake
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