Nature Group To Sell Oil & Gas Division To Secure Waiver From Lender

LONDON (Alliance News) - Nature Group PLC shares plunged Wednesday as it said it has secured a waiver from its lender which is conditional on the sale of the company's oil and gas business.

Shares were down 34% on Wednesday, at 2.79 pence, having been as high as 11.84 in March last year.

If the sale of Nature Oil & Gas Holding does not go ahead by late April, and no further waiver is given by lender DNB, the company said it will face "serious liquidity" constraints and that it would need extra funding to keep going.

Nature Group, which provides treatment services for oily and polluted waste waters, is considering using the GBP700,000 deferred consideration for its sold Gibraltar operations as collateral, should the sale not go ahead.

DNB granted the verbal waiver deferring the repayment of lease and debt financing facilities worth GBP1.0 million to the oil and gas division.

The company said the oil and gas division is still struggling, despite a pick-up in oil prices during 2017, and discussions with numerous parties have not turned into contracts. Maintaining a presence in the sector is putting pressure on cash flow and "limited" finances, and as such Nature Group is seeking the sale.

Nature Group is moving focus onto its Maritime division, and a strategic review has begun to yield positive results, it said. Rotterdam's operations improved financially towards the end of 2017, and this has continued into 2018.

Chairman Berend van Straten said: "2017 was another difficult year for Nature Group and we continue to face significant headwinds, particularly in our Oil & Gas division."

"However, we are encouraged that steps taken by the board during the period to identify the operational and structural issues problems and to define and begin to implement a new strategy are beginning to yield positive results."

He added: "There is much more work to do to ensure Nature Group has a viable future, and the proposed sale of the Oil & Gas division is a vital step in achieving that and to addressing the group's urgent, short-term cash requirements."