Countrywide’s share price fell by as much as 17 per cent at one point yesterday afternoon as investors assessed the latest pratfall by the company - the collapse of its bid to sell its commercial arm.
As we reported yesterday there was an announcement from Countrywide a few minutes before the Budget, prompting industry cynics to say that this was a classic example of attempting to bury bad news.
The announcement effectively admitted that its bid to sell Lambert Smith Hampton to Monaco-based John Bengt Moeller for £38m was dead in the water, with new buyers being sought.
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The financially wounded dinosaur - is now in the operating theatre - what a terrible unravelling of this once fine company. Let us or rather the C-suite of Countrywide face some facts - they do not know what they are doing. Who announces a sell off an asset before the deal is done - only people who do not have the intelligence to realise the devastation of such a deal going awry.
The banks might have been snapping at the them, after all 10,000 salaries a month to service is on its own a tall order, let alone the funding of the day to day loss making business, but if you run a big company you should not be making school boy errors.
Talking of errors - Alison Platt - ensuring the share price dropped by 80% during her tenure, the 10M of letting deposits in the 'wrong account' AML breaches and fines - just who is running the show? Very soon if there is a God someone who takes their responsibilities seriously to safeguard the futures of all those working within the company and the shareholders.
In 11 days - Countrywide's fate is sealed one way or the other - my thoughts LSL hostile bid will not go the distance - leaving a bloody rout - asset stripping and carnage. All of which many in the industry have been talking about for the last 18 months, so why did the board not act sooner.
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