Investor Group buys Stockford practice
THEInvestor Groupdealership has struck a deal with the administrators of the troubledStockfordgroup to buy one of the company’s Melbourne-based financial planning businesses.
The move comes just one month after Stockford slumped into voluntary administration when a last ditch attempt to sell off its financial planning businesses to Investor Group collapsed because of a lack of support from the majority of practice principals.
The Collins Street business was purchased for $2 million, with 500,000 Investor Group shares also issued to the Stockford principals joining Investor Group.
The news comes as more than one third of Stockford principals have opted to buy their businesses back directly from the group’s administrators rather than sell out to rival dealerships.
A spokesperson for the administrators, Korda Mentha, says up to 30 of the group’s 84 practice principals have reached in principle agreements to buy back their businesses.
The spokesperson says negotiations with the remaining principals were ongoing and a key priority for the administrators.
According to the spokesperson, Stockford was likely to be able to pay out its debt in full to all secured creditors.
The major secured creditor is understood to be the Westpac Bank.
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