Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter
Managing Director of Courts Jamaica, Hayden Singh. - File
Almost two years after its parent company was placed into receivership, the fate of local furniture chain, Courts Jamaica, is still unsure.
On Friday, the company's board advised the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) that negotiations for its sale was still ongoing and could take some time.
The statement to the JSE read: "Negotiations with the preferred bidder regarding the sale of the Courts Caribbean businesses including Courts (Jamaica) Limited are continuing, however the transaction is subject to financing and signing of mutually agreeable legal documentation. The outcome of these discussions and negotiations with the administrators and the providers of finance and the possible timetable for completion remain uncertain and could be protracted."
A similar notice was sent last month to the Stock Exchange.
In November 2004, Courts' United Kingdom parent company, Courts PLC, went into receivership with debts of £280 million and a pensions deficit of £14 million.
In fact, last February, Courts PLC merchandising director for its Caribbean operations, James Jacobs, was found hanging in his home in England. According to reports, Mr. Jacobs, who served 17 years with the company was despondent after finding that his pension no longer existed.
The U.K. company's receivership is being handled by the 200-year-old international brokerage house, NM Rothchilds & Sons Limited.
In August 2005, The Gleaner reported that four separate international parties had made a bid for the company, although the receivers declined to go into details.
"We are half way through the selling process of Courts (Jamaica) but it is going to take awhile to wrap up," Anselm Frost of NM Rothchilds, told the Gleaner at the time.
Courts Plc operates 95 stores in eleven Caribbean countries and owns about 79 per cent of the shares of the companies in Jamaica and Barbados. The company owns all the shares in the other nine companies.
The sale of Courts (Jamaica) was necessitated by the collapse of its parent company however the local company's operations has not been affected by the bankruptcy of its parent company.
The company experienced a seven per cent increase in its sales to $6.5 billion while its net profit , reflecting the highly competitive retail furniture market with shrinking margins, the company experienced a marginal decline of 0.1 per cent in its sales (to $1.463 billion) for its first quarter to July 3, 2006. Its net profit dipped by almost seven per cent, to $304 million, compared to $327 million for the comparative period period last year.
