It last month emerged that City Link’s management had attempted to sell the business before its administration. Dozens expressed an interest in buying the struggling parcels firm, but why was a sale not reached despite 27 offers being made?
A report compiled by administrator Ernst & Young (EY) said that it did not receive any offers that it felt were an appropriate reflection of the business and its assets. A number of offers deemed “unacceptable” were for just £10 or less, EY claimed.
“Despite the initial volume of interest, the number of parties who were able to transact without significant due diligence was limited, and the majority of these expressions of interest did not translate into formal or acceptable offers,” said the report.
Some 200 potential buyers were contacted, the majority of which (134) were trade buyers. Of the 27 offers received, only one potential buyer wanted to acquire the business and assets as a whole, but it emerged that the price it wished to pay only provided consideration for the debtor book (worth around £31m) and offered no value for the other assets, said EY.
The administrator did not specify what it thought would be an acceptable sum, but considering the aforementioned offer was "only for an amount up to £17m", The Hub would assume that it thought City Link was worth more.
Better Capital purchased City Link from Rentokil Initial for £1 in 2013.