Lord Ashcroft sells £40m Restore stake

Conservative peer Lord Ashcroft has sold the majority of his stake in office services and document management group Restore for about £40m.

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Lord Ashcroft once held as much as 87pc of Restore. Credit: Photo: PAUL GROVER

Geraldton Services, Lord Ashcroft’s investment vehicle, on Wednesday cut its shareholding in Restore from 43.6pc to below the 3pc mark – the level at which a stake is regarded as a notifiable interest. The shares were placed with institutional investors at 131p apiece, Restore said today.

Lord Ashcroft’s average in-price is understood to have been about 100p, which means the disposal may have generated a profit of £10m. The transaction has helped widen the company’s shareholder register, said Restore’s chief executive, Charles Skinner.

“We are very pleased with the level of demand we have received from new and existing institutional investors and the enlargement of our shareholder base that this placing brings to our share register,” he said. “The increase in the free float following the placing will provide additional liquidity to our shareholders and should assist Restore in achieving its longer-term strategic aims as the company enters the next phase of its growth.”

Lord Ashcroft, who helped struggling Restore carry out a turnaround by backing it with equity and debt financing, at one time held as much as 87pc of the company.

Mr Skinner said that he “would like to express my appreciation for the support Geraldton has provided as a major shareholder, which has been key in transforming the company over the last four years”.

Restore's shares were unchanged at 140½p on Aim.