Northamber acquires its own building

Distributor pays more than £6m for Weybridge premises it has rented since 1999, and apologises to shareholders for not consulting with them first

Northamber has shelled out £6.35m for the Weybridge-based premises it has occupied since 1999.

Based on the Brooklands Industrial Estate, the building and five-acre site has been used by the company as the warehouse for its operations with offices incorporated.

The distributor, which is known for sitting on a significant pile of cash, was paying £601,000 a year to rent the property, and had two and a half years remaining on its lease. It said in a statement that the freehold purchase has been a "long-term objective".

During the period of lease, Northamber revealed it has “substantially modified” the premises to remove the previous asbestos and damaged cladding, and to enable its operations to be carried out effectively and efficiently.

It said the sale, which concludes today, will mean it no longer has to look for alternate premises when the lease expires, and will bring it a "better return" on the cash invested.

The sale was quickened by the appearance of a developer who was looking to purchase and redevelop the site. Northamber was able to move quickly and negotiate a sale with the freeholder on this basis.

Also in its statement the distributor apologised to shareholders for not seeking their approval before making the transaction.

“As a result of the company needing to address these commercial pressures, the directors concluded it was necessary to enter into a binding agreement to secure the purchase of the premises in short order, and they therefore apologise to Northamber shareholders for being unable to seek their approval in advance of the transaction.

“To have requested the time necessary for a general meeting would have been incompatible with being able to successfully conclude the competitive negotiations,” it said.