L&B share offer scrapes to third of £750k target
Potential shareholders are being put off by complicated application process.
Just over a year from its launch in November 2015, the L&B Blackmoor Company plc share offer to buy the old station House Inn at Blackmoor Gate, and act as a launch pad for the Lynton & Barnstaple railway’s ambitious expansion plans, has raised barely one third of its £750,000 minimum target.
In January, would-be supporters were told that some potential shareholders had been deterred by the complicated application process, which includes a questionnaire to demonstrate the applicant’s awareness of the risk associated with the purchase of unlisted securities before a prospectus and application form would be issued. Others were awaiting the outcome of the railway’s planning applications to extend the existing line at Woody Bay. The company states that the questionnaire process is a regulatory requirement, but Steam Railway notes that it was not required for the Severn Valley Railway’s recently issued Bridgnorth prospectus. Concerning the planning applications, North Devon Council gave its approval to the aspects of the scheme under its jurisdiction last June. These include remodelling the Old Station House Inn and reinstating the railway between Blackmoor Gate and Wistlandpound reservoir. However, despite the Exmoor National Park authority having previously said it would make a decision within six months of the application being submitted, it asked for more information and is not now expected to decide until the spring. The applications to reinstate four miles of railway, and to build a transport interchange and engineering centre at Blackmoor Gate, were submitted in January 2015. The owner of the Blackmoor Gate property has said that it is prepared to give the company more time to complete the purchase, and is not currently looking for another purchaser. Therefore, following consultations with the 130 existing subscribers, the company and the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust have decided to extend the share offer until July 17 2017. If the significant gap between the amount currently subscribed and the target is reduced considerably, the company will pursue the possibility of making a staged purchase.