Norcros may sue Morrisons over failed land deal

NORCROS, the company which supplies showers, tiles and adhesives, says a deal to sell land in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, to supermarket giant Morrisons has fallen through.

The firm says it may now seek compensation from Morrisons after it decided not to go ahead with the deal.

In an announcement to the London Stock Exchange this morning Norcros - which owns Nuneaton-based Triton Showers and Stoke-on-Trent-based Johnson Tiles - said the conditional contract to sell part of its surplus freehold land to Optimisation Developments, a subsidiary of WM Morrison Supermarkets, is the subject of a dispute between the two parties and is unlikely to proceed.

It said: “As announced in August 2011, the conditional contract to sell this surplus land for gross cash proceeds of £8.25m was dependent on obtaining acceptable planning consent for the site.

“The group estimated the land required certain infrastructure developments amounting to approximately £5.65m thereby generating expected net proceeds of £2.6m on the disposal.

“Planning consent was obtained on the Highgate site, Tunstall last May for a 71,000 sq ft foodstore for Morrisons and associated non-food retail units. However, a dispute as to whether this constitutes an acceptable planning consent has not been resolved and more recently Morrisons have been refusing to proceed in line with the contract.

“The board and its legal advisers believe the planning consent to be acceptable, and is considering its next actions regarding the contract, including seeking compensation from Morrisons.”

Source : The Business Desk - West Midlands
www.thebusinessdesk.com/westmidlands/news/572915-norcros-may-sue-morrisons-after-stoke-land-deal-collapses.html