Ross fails to halt rumours of share sale
David Ross last night failed to scotch speculation that he's looking for a buyer for his £165m stake in Carphone Warehouse.
Unhelpful: Ross has failed to give clear information about his share sale plans
In his first public statement since becoming embroiled in scandal, the Carphone Warehouse cofounder vowed to run his business interests in an 'orderly manner'.
The assurances fell far short of the explicit guarantee not to sell his 19pc stake in Carphone Warehouse that the City had wanted.
Ross quit the mobile phone retailer's board on Monday after admitting that he secretly used a big portion of his holding to raise personal loans. After breaching stock market rules at the three other listed companies where he was a director, he has since resigned from National Express and storage firm Big Yellow.
Ross is said to have borrowed over £100m to make bets on the UK commercial property market, which is now falling sharply.
The fact that the tycoon had mortgaged around £200m in shares against his loans sparked concerns that he was getting squeezed by his creditors.
The fear is that if the property market falls further he would breach the terms of his loans and be forced to sell his shares.
City sources say Ross' assets still 'comfortably' cover his loans. But investors are increasingly concerned that negative equity is looming on some of the shopping centres he bought near the top of the market.
A spokesman for Ross said: 'David is now focused exclusively on managing his private business interests in an orderly manner, particularly through the present period of market turbulence.
'David regrets the present situation, but his record of previous business success speaks for itself, and he is determined to successfully work through this period.'
Ross also has big positions in storage group Big Yellow, National Express and marine equipment maker Cosalt. He has offered to resign his chairman's job at Cosalt.
The Grimsby-based company was last night considering his request. Ross, a scion of the frozen fish dynasty, borrowed heavily from Halifax Bank of Scotland during the boom years of the property market, building up a huge portfolio of shopping centres.
A 30% drop in the market since late November has wiped out much, if not all, of his profits.
With commercial property expected to drop another 25% over the next two years, his Kanadahar property investment vehicle could be heading for big losses.
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