Caffyns sells surplus site for £1m

Motor dealer Caffyns has sold its vacant East Grinstead site for £1m. That represents a gain over book value of £160,000. The cash will be used to reduce borrowings. Net debt was just over £11m at the end of September 2010, excluding preference shares worth £1.24m. Last November Caffyns said that a draft contract had been issued to a potential site purchaser which was conditional upon planning approval. This appears to have come through. Caffyns had previously tried to sell the site. It exchanged contracts in November 2007 for the sale of the freehold site in West Sussex with Alburn (Minos) Ltd conditional upon a satisfactory planning permission being granted. It was not granted within the timescale laid down in the contract and the contract was terminated by Alburn. Caffyns