The last of the 8.6 million Coffee Republic shares the owners of the GoodBean cafe chain were given for selling out just over a year ago have now been sold, it is believed.
The sale of parcels of Coffee Republic stock by the liquidators of Glanpark Ltd, the company behind GoodBean, is believed by observers to be behind the recent slump in the number three coffee chain's share price, down 25% since mid-December to 1.88p a share.
The 8.6 million shares, which represented almost 4% of Coffee Republic's stock, were issued in consideration of the £800,000 purchase price of GoodBean and its 19 espresso bar sites in December 2001. At Coffee Republic's most recent high of 2.75p, the stake would have been worth just £236,500.
On Thursday Glanpark announced that it "no longer had a notifiable interest" in Coffee Republic. It is thought that as part of the GoodBean deal, the shares could not be sold until at least 12 months had passed.
Last month Coffee Republic turned down a 4.5p-a-share bid from its rival Caffe Nero, which subsequently withdrew the offer. A week later it revealed interim figures which showed its operating loss more than doubled to £1.52m.
Turnover rose 19% to £15.4m for the period, as it turned in positive cash flow from operating activities of £100,000 against a negative flow of £600,000 for the same period last year. Losses on property sales of almost £1.8m sent the company's loss per share up almost five times to 1.75p, against 0.36p in 2001.
The sale of parcels of Coffee Republic stock by the liquidators of Glanpark Ltd, the company behind GoodBean, is believed by observers to be behind the recent slump in the number three coffee chain's share price, down 25% since mid-December to 1.88p a share.
The 8.6 million shares, which represented almost 4% of Coffee Republic's stock, were issued in consideration of the £800,000 purchase price of GoodBean and its 19 espresso bar sites in December 2001. At Coffee Republic's most recent high of 2.75p, the stake would have been worth just £236,500.
On Thursday Glanpark announced that it "no longer had a notifiable interest" in Coffee Republic. It is thought that as part of the GoodBean deal, the shares could not be sold until at least 12 months had passed.
Last month Coffee Republic turned down a 4.5p-a-share bid from its rival Caffe Nero, which subsequently withdrew the offer. A week later it revealed interim figures which showed its operating loss more than doubled to £1.52m.
Turnover rose 19% to £15.4m for the period, as it turned in positive cash flow from operating activities of £100,000 against a negative flow of £600,000 for the same period last year. Losses on property sales of almost £1.8m sent the company's loss per share up almost five times to 1.75p, against 0.36p in 2001.
