13 April 2007 – The Telegraph

Property entrepreneurs Simon and David Reuben have romped home as winners in the race to acquire Northern Racing, which owns both Uttoxeter and Chepstow racecourses.

 

NR Acquisitions, which is a bid vehicle for the Reuben brothers, has secured the recommendation of Northern Racing’s board for a 200p-a-share cash offer.

 

This includes the 1.6p final dividend that has already been declared.

The deal values the company at £65.9m, plus debt.

The Clarke family and the property company St Modwen, which between them own 86.2pc of the shares, have accepted an offer of 185p a share for their stakes.

The Reuben Brothers deal has come in at a far lower price than some people in the market were expecting. Earlier this week the shares hit 242½p.

Finance director Tim Kelly, who along with the rest of the management team will be staying on under the new owners, said: “The share price at 240p and even at 180p, which is where it was at before Christmas, had a lot of bid speculation in the price.”

The Reuben brothers, who own parts of Oxford Street in London, have promised to keep the racecourses as going concerns.