New bidder emerges for Londis
A £60 MILLION rival bid for convenience stores group Londis will be tabled on Monday by a group trying to thwart an agreed offer by Budgens owner Musgrave.
Lancelot, a group run by former directors of convenience chain T&S Stores, will offer Londis shopkeeper shareholders £12,400 per share plus a 60% stake in the ongoing business. Geoff Purdy, the former buying and marketing director of T&S, which was sold to Tesco for £519 million two years ago, has decided to make the offer despite being denied access to detailed figures on Londis.
Purdy told Financial Mail that Musgrave, which has offered £30,000 a share for total control of Londis, failed to give its shareholders a stake in the future propserity of the business. 'Our offer will give them some cash upfront and enable them to share in the benefits of future growth,' he said.
Purdy hopes the Londis board will ask shareholders to vote on the proposal alongside the Musgrave offer this month.
The details have emerged just days after Big Food, which owns the Iceland frozen-food chain, withdrew its interest in Londis following a review of financial data.
Big Food said the review raised a number of questions regarding profitability and financial condition - 'both of which seem to understate the company's potential'.
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