Stobart Group (STOB) has slammed the brakes on the planned launch of a 5.5 per cent retail bond after an unenthusiastic reception from the market, even though the £25m the company was looking to raise was comparatively small compared with other recent retail bonds.
Management cited the issue of bonds with larger coupons in recent weeks as being one reason for pulling the issue, presumably because they have overshadowed what Stobart had to offer. It may also not have helped that relations between Stobart's management and its investors appear to have been strained, to say the least, since a shareholder revolt over pay at the last annual general meeting. This was later followed by write-downs on property assets that the company controversially acquired from chief executive Andrew Tinkler and director William Stobart.
