Currency movement
Movement of the Canadian dollar against sterling over the last 4 years may also suggest that its an opportune time for Vantage to move on. 4 years ago, the rate for the Canadian dollar was circa 1.60 whereas its now 1.85. If for sake of argument they invested £30m in Liverpool (hard to ascertain the value from the consolidated accounts but liabilities did increase significantly in 2010) then to purchase £30m would have cost 48m Can Dollars. If Peel offered say £25m for the shares now then at present exchange rates they would receive 46.25m Can Dollars. In the meantime, they will have been taking dividends. Net loss overall would be allowable against tax. Peel have invested £30m for 4 years and also buy the shares back at a discount. No obvious loser? I think I'm correct in saying that Liverpool made an operating profit of over £5m last year. Going forward, the question is whether that is sufficient ROI for Peel with Liverpool's debt eliminated.