Small workspace provider Bizspace said any offer for the company would be priced close to its newly unveiled 93p net asset value.
Announcing its results for the year to 28 February, the £70m, AIM-listed company said discussions that might lead to a takeover were “progressing”. Wednesday’s trading price of 85p is at a discount to the new diluted NAV figure, up 42%.
Bizspace, which is chaired by property entrepreneur Larry Lipman, announced the takeover talks at the end of March. Two private operators, Chancerygate and Highcross, have made approaches to the company, with Highcross now thought to be the frontrunner.
Jack Petchey’s Trefick is the biggest stakeholder, owning 23.7%; Lipman’s interests hold 13% and Merrill Lynch 10%.
Paul Davies, a director at Bizspace, said the huge hike in NAV was primarily due to CB Richard Ellis’s revaluation. “Two things fuelled it: improved occupancy and income, generating better yields; and a rise in value due to yield shift.”
The company, which posted pretax profits of £3.8m (2005: £3m) and turnover up from £9.8m to £14.5m, has 60 sites. In addition, last December it set up a Jersey-based property trust with Electra, which buys sites separately.
