The largest private Channel Islands employer – which includes the Checkers supermarket group, Safeway, the former Ann Street pub chain and the Marks & Spencer franchise in Jersey – issued a stock exchange statement late on Friday afternoon, after its share price soared by ten per cent, revealing that ‘a party’ had expressed recent interest in acquiring ‘all or part’ of the group.
Mr Scott said today that the discussions were at a very early stage.
He made it clear that under stock exchange rules he was unable to divulge the identity of the possible purchaser.
‘We have had some very tentative talks and we do not know whether it will lead to a bid or not.
Our share price went up by ten per cent on Friday and under stock exchange rules we have to announce anything that is happening at the time,’ he said.
On Wednesday last week the share price was stable at 75p, by Thursday lunchtime it had inched up to 76p but by close of play on Friday it had hit 83p.
This morning the price rose again to a new high of 87p.
