Sandpiper terminates purchase of The Guernsey Pub Company

Property development company Sandpiper has announced that its intended acquisition of The Guernsey Pub Company has now been “terminated”.

The board of directors of Sandpiper said that due to the effects of Covid-19 to date and the “uncertainty surrounding its future effects”, it has been unable to fulfil the conditions of the placing agreement required to achieve admission on the London Stock Exchange.

According to the company, this was the remaining condition to the sale and purchase agreement required to complete the acquisition of business.

The Guernsey Pub Company owns Randalls of Guernsey, which operates the Slaughterhouse bar, the Prince of Wales restaurant and The Imperial hotel.

The board said it is “closely monitoring” the implications of Covid-19 on the business of the company and its group.

It said in a statement: “The situation is fast-moving, with the Government of Jersey announcing additional measures to slow the spread of the infection on Sunday evening, which came into effect yesterday morning.

“The measures implemented by both the States of Guernsey and the Government of Jersey require the closure of all non-essential shops and place material restrictions on physical retail businesses.

It continued: “As a result, all of our clothing and home shops in Guernsey and Jersey are temporarily closed while the food stores remain open.

“We are continually evaluating and taking action to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 lockdowns, as well as running various scenarios to assess the potential financial impact.  The company will make further announcements if any material factors emerge that might affect investors’ interests.”