DISCREDITED Paisley company Semple Cochrane has been forced to call an extraordinary meeting on October 30 because its net assets have fallen to less than half the value of its called-up share capital.
The meeting will be held at the Normandy Hotel in Renfrew. Semple's new board wrote down net assets by #10m earlier this year. The revised figure for December 31 last year is a lowly #4.8m.
The company's shares have continued to plunge. They finished 0.5p lower yesterday at 33p, giving Semple a stock market worth of just #3.3m. The support services company is negotiating with Bank of Scotland in the hope of a deal which will see the bank convert as much as #8m of its borrowings into a stake of up to 49.9%. The #8m figure represents about
one-third of Semple's borrowings from the bank.
The October 30 meeting must be held under section 142 of the Companies Act 1985 to discuss what steps should be taken to deal with the tumble in net assets.
Semple's board feels no further action is required because of the ongoing talks with the bank.
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