Crest Nicholson say © 2009 Crest Nicolson PLC on their website, but they havent been a PLC company, that is a Public Limited Company with shares listed on the London Stock Exchange, since 3rd May 2007. perhaps they feel that being PLC gives them "credibility" with their customers!
Companies House say:
"A public limited company can choose to be either unlisted or listed on a regulated market. The majority of PLC's choose to be unlisted and therefore do not offer their shares for purchase by members of the public etc.
In order for a company to offer its shares on a regulated market it needs to obtain a trading certificate from Companies House to confirm that its has the minimum allotted share capital
- section 761 & 762 Companies Act 2006. It is an offence to trade without such a certificate. These rules are slightly different for a company that has been re-registered from Limited to PLC.
In general terms the rules surrounding PLC's are stricter than for a private limited company - for example shorter filing deadline
for accounts, PLC's are not able to file unaudited accounts unless they are dormant and they must have a company secretary"
For most of the last decade Crest have been saddled with debt. They currently owe £431 million which is due to be repaid during 2013.
Crest is 80% owned by a US hedge fund Varde, with the current Crest Nicholson directors also owning 10%.
The debt repayment is not going to be easy when an operating profit of £47.3million was turned into a LOSS for the last year of £27.6 million due to interest charged on the debt and loans.
Anyone thinking of buying a new home from CREST NICHOLSON should also consider who is going to carry out any remedial work if the company ceases trading. In April 2009 even Persimmon, Galliford Try and Redrow who were thought to be considering a bid for the company didnt want to know when they discovered the extent of the debt. The loss that in the accounts to 31 October 2009, of £50.7m. - making the level of debt dfficult to support.
