EUROPE – The NEC (National Exhibition Centre) Group, put up for sale by Birmingham City Council (BCC), has slipped behind its schedule for announcing a new owner, with fears that the deal is taking longer to complete than anticipated.
CMW has heard that private equity house LDC (part of the Lloyds banking group), could be the party currently locked in ‘exclusivity’ talks.
Previous statements from the BCC and NEC Group had promised an announcement on a winning bidder before the New Year.
A new statement passed to CMW from The NEC Group confirms the slippage: “BCC is making progress in discussions with a preferred purchaser for the NEC and Cabinet is to be updated with the current project status. An announcement will be made in due course with completion expected in the New Year.”
A previous statement had said the sale process was expected to conclude by the end of 2014
LDC, meanwhile, contacted by CMW, continued to neither confirm or deny the report, saying its policy was “not to comment on media speculation”.
If LDC is ultimately successful in its bid, it would herald the return of British private equity to the sector, more recently dominated by US equity, such as Starwood Capital and Bain Capital. For many it would be a welcome return of UK investors to the sector backing a British management team.
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