8:54am Thursday 28th February 2008
BOOKMAKER Neville Porter, which has been hit by a run of poor results, yesterday gave an update on its restructuring proposals.
The County Durham company aims to raise funds by selling its UK racecourse pitches to one of its directors and then leasing them over a 15-year-period.
The firm, which floated on the Alternative Investment Market 12 months ago, said it had agreed the terms of the deal with managing director David Neville Porter.
The deal, which will raise £350,000, must be agreed at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, expected to be held next month.
Neville Porter was forced to take steps to reduce its cost base after its telephone and online betting services, based in Birtley, generated worse-than-expected returns.
Neville Porter's core business is the operation of pitches on leading racecourses across the UK.
It launched its phone and internet betting operations in April last year, and by the summer had predicted significant growth.
However, the growth failed to materialise and, in December, the company reported an annual operating loss of £912,754 on turnover of £6.67m.
Neville Porter yesterday said recent losses had "seriously eroded"
the group's working capital base.
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