By Clyde Mooney
The discombobulated board of Redcape Property Group (RPG) has released unaudited preliminary end of financial year results which cast little light on the embattled pub group's future.
The report shows revenues down 11.3 percent due to venue sales, and total liabilities over $710m, but also a net loss down 71 per cent to $22.3m from $77.2m last year.
The release comes ahead of a September 30 deadline to produce end of financial year results that will detail RPG’s plan to meet debt amortization targets to its Senior lenders, for which a waiver was not granted, or almost certainly proceed to liquidation.
However a new proposal from BW + Partners, the property investment arm of Washington H Soul Pattinson, would see Senior debt paid out in full and security holders paid $0.10 for their shares, which are currently trading at $0.06.
The recent recapitalisation offer by the Goldman Sachs-led consortium fell over when it failed to get the Junior lenders to accept a deal amounting to 11c in the dollar, but the new arrangement has reputedly already got the backing of the Juniors with a plan to pay them above 50c in the dollar.
The BW + Partners arrangement still requires a two-thirds majority approval by the holders of Senior debt, of which the Goldman Sachs investor group owns 39 per cent.
The Laundy Hotel Group is strongly rumoured to be involved and key to the proposal, but Stuart Laundy was unable to comment to TheShout today.
The announcement represent a change of perspective, after the board stated in mid-August that it considered August 30 to be the deadline for deciding whether RPG ‘could continue as a going concern’.