Stanley Gibbons to offer fractional ownership of world's priciest stamp

(Sharecast News) - Stanley Gibbons announced on Friday that, in conjunction with its technology partner Showpiece Technologies, a company owned by Phoenix Asset Management Partners (PAMP), fractional ownership of the 1c-Black on Magenta stamp would be launching next week.
The AIM-traded firm said it was the world's most expensive postage stamp.

It explained that, in order to facilitate fractional ownership, the previous chattel mortgage held over the stamp by the group's majority shareholder Phoenix SG (PSG), a company controlled by PAMP, was being replaced by a fixed charge security over the proportion of the stamp in which the company had beneficial interest.

Any proceeds of sales of fractional entitlements not remitted by the company to PSG would pay down the loan.

The headline terms were unchanged, with a total loan value of £6.5m, and a five-year initial term which could be extended by agreement between both parties.

Stanley Gibbons said the loan was interest free, with 50% of any profit made on the sale of the fractions, post the loan value being repaid, due to PSG.

Additionally, the loan was amended to create flexibility, and protect purchasers of fractions in the stamp.

The proceeds from the sale of fractions of the stamp would initially be used to pay down the loan, with any outstanding balance on the loan at the end of the term now able to be satisfied by the pro-rata transfer of any unsold fractions of the stamp from Stanley Gibbons to the lender.

As part of the process to provide fractional ownership to collectors in an "effective and enjoyable" way, Stanley Gibbons said it had also entered into a commercial agreement with Showpiece, which would provide its services to Stanley Gibbons completely free of charge throughout the life of the agreement.

As part of the agreement with Showpiece, and included in the terms and conditions, should the legal and beneficial title to the item be sold in its entirety at some point in the future through a process managed by Showpiece, Showpiece would receive a fee of 2.5% of the gross proceeds payable by the beneficial owners of the stamp at that time.

"We're extremely excited to be able to offer this unique, first-of-its-kind opportunity which will not only make a true global treasure available to all to own but increase interest in the hobby more widely," said Stanley Gibbons chief executive officer Graham Shircore.

At 1606 GMT, shares in the Stanley Gibbons Group were up 1.33% at 3.04p.