Former conservative chair Lord Ashcroft will seek “open discussions” with the board to explore strategic options for his majority stake, including a possible sale of the company, Gusborne announced today. There is “no certainty” of a sale or an offer at this stage, the company said. Ashcroft owns over 40m shares in AIM-listed Gusborne, equivalent to 66.
76 per cent of the company. The company has a market cap of £40.17m.
Options for Gusborne include a sale, strategic merger, or a debt restructuring programme, Ashcroft added. Gusborne is a producer of English luxury wine, a rapidly growing market . It recently launched the most expensive English sparkling on the market, Fifty One Degrees North, at £195.
It was launched in 2004 by Andrew Weeber and acquired by Lord Ashcroft in 2013 for £7m. Weeber retained a 13 percent holding and became non-executive chairman. He held this position until last year.
In addition to his majority stake in Gusborne, a company owned by the peer holds a £20m long-term secured deep discount bond. In 2022, Ashcroft announced a similar intention to open discussions with the board over his majority stake in recruitment firm Impellum. The company was sold the next year for £483m, at a total price per share of 1.
084.4p – including a dividend for shareholders. He netted £300m from the sale of the firm .
“At the tender age of 78, I am reviewing my future options and would like to conduct a similar exercise [to Impellum] with regard to Gusbou.