Equity warning sends shares in DTZ plummeting

Property agent DTZ, which is in takeover talks with a string of unnamed bidders, said the equity in its business was worth little or nothing due to its high level of debt yesterday, sending its shares plunging by about 76 per cent.

By The Newsroom

Published 8th Nov 2011, 09:55 BST

In a stock market statement, DTZ, which has an office in Leeds led by Tim Cameron-Jones, said takeover approaches have attributed “minimal value, if any” to the value of its shares.

It said: “Based on the valuation of DTZ derived from proposals received to date ... and given the level of debt within DTZ, there is minimal value, if any, that may be attributed to the shares of DTZ, although the exact value is uncertain.”

In early trading, DTZ’s shares were down 76 per cent to 5p.

DTZ put itself up for sale last month after a deal with majority shareholder Saint George Participations and BNP Paribas, that reportedly valued the company at £162m, fell through due to the eurozone economic turmoil, handicapping French lenders.

Leeds