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Sain, Your observation on John Whittaker rings true. I've never come within a mile of him, or Peel, but I do know a couple of retired Hedgies who did and judge him to have the mind of a steel trap and a love of dealmaking. So, I can't see him either walking away, or rolling over in the face of the lenders. I'm guessing he regards this mess as a marvellous intellectual challenge. At 78 he's still seemingly working like a 30-year-old and he hasn't done what most men of his age have, which is to slow down considerably. Nor was he tempted to pay down the debt during good times - He must like a high-wire act and have an enormous appetite for risk.
Remember he's seen his personal equity go from £2 billion to almost Sweet FA and, having watched a few others fight to keep their ships floating over the many market collapses, my concern now would be for the non-inside shareholders - Joe Public.
If it becomes a carve-up between the lenders & Peel, then no insider will give a flying-fig if the terms are very unappealing to Joe Public. Remember too, that over 50% of the shares are in the hands of concert-parties and any plan can be voted through by them.
This is an utterly fascinating situation. Can the chestnuts be pulled out of the fire? How can profits be made by outsiders in the meantime? It's almost like watching a very slow-motion airplane crash. Can the pilot pull it out of the dive and find a safe place to land? My judgement remains, as first expressed long-ago in Springtime, - Caveat Emptor - This is a game, a very rough, tough game, for the big boys, all of whom will fight their corners fiercely and the devil take the hindmost.
No one, who's presently underwater, should expect to be rescued, or bailed out, by the people with deep pockets.
Gewillia
Hadn't had much to do with Peel over the years except once Introduced a pre -let retail warehouse where they took on the whole project retaining on completion an income producing investment Remember it went like clockwork and everybody got paid properly. It was at a time before the main funds were getting involved At the same time when Land Sec crashed into the market in a big way with Graham Chase acting for them Rent reviews geared to industrial rents Plus an overage
We digress
My overiding impression of Whittaker was he was a deals driven individua the more complex the better
Surely this situation is tailor made for him to extract the prize as a swansong /career highlight ?