A group of investors including HBOS and property specialists the Reuben brothers has made a takeover offer to McCarthy & Stone’s lenders.

The builder of retirement homes needs to cut its debt and HBOS and the Reubens, two leading shareholders, have teamed up with distressed debt investor ADM Capital to offer about £60m of new funds in exchange for majority control.

As part of the proposal, holders of senior debt would have to write off more than half of their debt claims, leaving the company with less than €300m (£267m) of cash-interest bearing debt after the restructuring, according to people close to the situation.

The new funds would be used to provide those lenders with a cash exit if they wanted to reduce their exposure to the company.

Financial; Times