Stobart hits back at property deal claims

13th May 2011 07:29

Distribution group Stobart has issued a strongly-worded statement denying a "speculative" story in the Daily Telegraph that alleges that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) is examining a deal that will see Stobart buy a property portfolio from its chief executive.The article says that the FSA decided to review the transaction after being contacted by Cumbria police."The company believes the content of the article to be entirely false," said Stobart.It added that it has "not been contacted by any of the authorities referred to and is confident that there is no inquiry."Stobart said its own enquiries found that the claims had been made by a "disgruntled individual" who has made false claims against the company in the past, resulting in a conviction for contempt of court.Stobart said last month that it has entered into an option to acquire the Westbury property portfolio from WADI properties, which is controlled by Stobart chief executive Andrew Tinckler and his brother in law William Stobart, who is chief operating officer of Stobart.The Telegraph article says that Tinckler and Stobart bought the Westbury portfolio for £140m four years ago through WADI properties, an investment vehicle. It says that WADI had breached its loan to value covenants after a fall in the portfolio's value and that shareholders have raised concerns about Stobart's plans to buy the portfolio.---RG