Amateur Photographer Magazine

 Jessops to drop PLC status 'before Christmas': Chairman interview - Page One: Jessops set to drop PLC status

Tuesday 17th November 2009

Chris Cheesman

High-street photographic retailer Jessops will be de-listed from the London Stock Exchange before Christmas, according to chairman David Adams in an exclusive interview with Amateur Photographer (AP) magazine.

In September Jessops' main operating company was sold to a new firm called Snap Equity Ltd, 47% of which is owned by HSBC bank.

The financial restructure saved 2,000 jobs and meant that HSBC forgave £34m of debt owed by Jessops.

As part of the restructuring deal, Jessops - which was saddled with £57m of debt - said that £100,000 will be made available for distribution to Jessops shareholders.

Jessops floated on the stock market in 2004 and continued on an expansion path that increased its store portfolio to more than 300.

In 2007 its share price plummeted more than 70% after it warned of a huge loss, largely blaming this on the falling price of digital compact cameras.

Bosses admitted to AP that the chain may have grown too fast for its own good.

Jessops then embarked on a massive cost-cutting plan that led to the closure of 81 shops and the loss of 550 jobs.

Earlier this year Jessops slashed 200 assistant manager positions and reduced staff levels at its head office in Leicester to 150 - less than half the number employed there in 2007.

Last month The Times newspaper suggested that Jessops' share price, of more than a penny a share, did not truly reflect the value of a firm that was 'effectively bust'.

In an exclusive interview with AP, chairman David Adams admitted it is 'bizarre' that Jessops plc is still trading on the London Stock Exchange with shares that carry a 'spurious value'.

'We are in a slightly anomalous situation,' he told AP. 'It's still a listed vehicle but it owns nothing. It doesn't own Jessops Group Limited anymore. This was always going to happen. It will be de-listed before Christmas.'

Adams continued: 'For some reason it's still trading at around a penny [per share] which values the whole thing [Jessops] at about a million pounds.'

However, he insisted that Jessops has met all its stock exchange obligations, in terms of keeping people informed of the firm's position.

STORY CONTINUES HERE: VAT PLAN 'MADNESS'





OTHER JESSOPS ARTICLES
Jessops in bank rescue deal
Jessops fury over BBC Radio outburst
Jessops hires Coffee Republic man
Former Jessops boss in radio outburst
Jessops drops all Pentax cameras
Jessops share price plunge 27 May 2009
Jessops in frame for ID card scheme
Jessops revamps flagship store
Jessops' rent bill pledge
Jessops store closure list
Jessops to shut down 17 stores
Interview with chairman History of Jessops

Got an opinion on this story? Why not post a comment on our news message boards

Back to index