Chesterfield has confirmed its intention to sharpen up investment and development strategy by acquiring Robert Maxted’s property company Albion.
Finance director David Kieran said Chesterfield wanted to apply Maxted’s expertise in the secondary property market to its existing holdings, worth £410m. “We want to be much more aggressive in the turnover of our portfolio.”
Kieran confirmed that Chesterfield’s theatre and cinema properties are likely to be hived off as a separate concern under the management of chairman Roger Wingate, giving the company a clearer focus.
Maxted, who founded Albion last year with backing from Burford Holdings and Legal & General, will become Chesterfield’s chief executive. The deal puts him at the head of a quoted company for the first time.
He said: “If you want to be a player in the market then you need a balance sheet that allows you to do innovative deals.”
EGi News 31/10/96
Chesterfield set to sell 1 Buckingham Gate,SW1, to Norwegian investors for £51m (EGi News 25 /10/96)
