Russian warehouse owner Raven Property is preparing to de-list from the London Stock Exchange after the war in Ukraine and subsequent sanctions against Russia have made it “impracticable for the business to continue in its current form”.
From today, ordinary and preference shares have been suspended due the investment company’s inability to accurately assess its current financial position.
Earlier this week it was ejected from the FTSE indices, alongside three other London stocks with ties to Russia – Polymetal International, Petropavlovsk and Evraz – following concerns of insufficient liquidity.
Raven has also announced plans to dispose of its Russian business to Prestino Investments, a Cypriot holding company that is owned and controlled by Raven’s Russian management team.
Chair Richard Jewson said: “In these extraordinary times it has become necessary to take extraordinary measures in order to protect all employees and stakeholders in our business. The combination of volatile markets and the continual risk of sanctions and counter sanctions necessitates this transaction. We hope and pray for peace.”
Major shareholders Quilter Investors, Schroders and JO Hambro Capital Management have already stomached huge losses, with shares in the property investment company down 88% year-to-date.
Quilter, which owned close to 24% of the investment company at the end of December, told Portfolio Adviser earlier this week it was exiting the holding.
Disgraced stockpicker Neil Woodford was previously one of Raven’s biggest backers, amassing close to a 30% stake in his previous funds at Invesco and a 12% stake in his Equity Income and Income Focus funds at Woodford Investment Management.
Raven bought back Woodford’s stake following the collapse of his fund boutique in October 2019, as well as Invesco’s holding in January 2021. Quilter agreed to purchase around 35 million of Invesco’s shares, while Schroders picked up an additional nine million.
Raven’s board said it would shortly convene with shareholders to propose the required resolutions to cancel the company’s London listings. Major shareholders have already been briefed and are expected to support the proposals.
Raven’s results for the year ended 31 December 2021 have been delayed until further notice. An unaudited version shows its Russian business had £437m of net assets and its property portfolio was almost fully let, with 97% of rents collected for the year.
See also: Quilter and Schroders stung by ex-Woodford Russian property holding
