DTZ is aiming to raise up to £52m of new equity to keep itself afloat.
The listed property services firm, which this morning also revealed an £11.2m pretax loss in the six months to 31 October, is issuing up to 203.8m new shares through a firm placing and a placing and open offer at a price of 27p each.
DTZ warned that, if it was unable to raise most of the money, which is dependent on various conditions, it might not be able to meet its debts to the Royal Bank of Scotland and, therefore, might be placed in administration.
DTZ’s auditor Deloitte warned that ‘these conditions indicate the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern’.
DTZ hopes to raise a minimum of £37.1m, of which £26.9m gross will come from the French Saint George Participations (SGP) group, which is DTZ’s largest shareholder with 28.7%. As a result SGP will put three of its representatives on the DTZ board and will own between 55.7% and 77.8% of the company.
Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to amend and restate the terms of DTZ’s four facilities, so that they become one facility, conditional upon DTZ receiving at least £40m gross.
DTZ’s new chief executive Paul Idzik said: ‘In common with many other businesses, however, it has been adversely affected by these turbulent times in economic and real estate markets across the world.
‘On the completion of the firm placing and the placing and open offer, we will be well placed to ride out the current challenging conditions to realise that potential and continue to create and enhance value for all our shareholders.
‘We are grateful to SGP, our largest shareholder with whom we have established an excellent relationship over the last three years, for its support as we navigate the group through the challenges in the immediate future and preserve value for our shareholders.’
No comments yet