It has been a good week for people spotters in the property world. On Monday we learned that Ramon Greene, who with his then partner Jack Walker built a property empire, largely with funds raised from the Crown Agents, before it collapsed during the 1970s crash, was back on the public stage. Then, on Tuesday, James Gulliver, the man who was largely responsible for creating the Argyll Group of food-retailing operations, announced he was moving into property.
Mr Greene’s comeback is through Glentree Estates, the London estate agency company which came to the Unlisted Securities Market late in 1986 and which already has the backing of Hillsdown Holdings’ David Thompson.
Glentree has purchased Mr Greene’s private company, the Spencer Group, for £1.7m cash plus a 7.5% stake in Glentree. Through the Spencer Group, Mr Greene has already completed a substantial number of schemes and it seems certain that, despite his previous crash, he will attract a following.
Mr Gulliver is also certain to acquire fans on the London stock market after his deal, which gives him and some of his associates a controlling interest in the Jacksons Bourne End property operation.
Mr Gulliver’s private company, Select Country Hotels, is buying 30% of Jacksons, Mr Gulliver is acquiring 10% and other institutional investors are picking up 20%. All the shares come from Jacksons’ parent company, Bugge Eienedoms of Norway, and the price is 445p a share.
The purchasers are obliged to bid for the remainder of the Jackson shares under the City Take-over Code, but it is intended that any shares so acquired by Select will be placed with other investors in order to maintain the quotation.
It is intended to beef up the development effort, and the backing of the Gulliver interest should ensure that Jackson attracts the funds it will required.
