Shares in the company that owns Watford Football Club lost almost a third of their value yesterday after the group said it would run out of cash before Christmas if it did not secure fresh funding.
Watford Leisure, 3¼p down at 6¾p, said that it needed another £5.5 million to see it through to June next year, on top of the £4.9 million of loans that it owes already to Valley Grown Salads, a large shareholder, which are secured against its Vicarage Road stadium. Thus far the company has been unable to raise money from its existing shareholders, the largest of which is Lord Ashcroft. It said that it would run out of funding on December 22; if it did, it said, it would suspend its shares on AIM.
DCD Media rose 2p to 9¼p after the television production group behind the Stephen Fry in America documentary series and Sweeney Todd, the drama, revealed a successful refinancing. Highbridge Capital Management, the primary holder of its convertible loan notes, has agreed to cancel almost £7 million of debt in return for nearly £2.5 million cash and 7.6 million shares in the company. DCD is funding the cash element with a £3 million loan from Coutts.
St Ives fell 8p to 60p after the printer said that first-quarter underlying sales had fallen 9 per cent and that its economic outlook remained uncertain, with customers cautious about next year.
Prosperity Minerals rose 32p to 97½p after the Chinese cement maker agreed to sell its Upper Value Investments subsidary to TCC International for about £312 million. Falkland Island Holdings rose 30p to 372½p after the mini-conglomerate sold three million shares in Falkland Oil and Gas, down 1½p at 129½p, for a £3.1 million profit.