Alpha Pyrenees shares dive as no prospect for cash returns

Property investment company Alpha Pyrenees saw its share price tumble on Friday after the Guernsey-based group reported a pre-tax loss from its few remaining properties and nixed the potential for any cash return to shareholders.

However, Alpha's still managed to narrow losss 20.39% on its previous year despite its revenue dropping by more than half to £413,000.

Alpha's improved results were principally due to smaller losses on revaluations of its investment properties held for sale and lowered administration costs, but they were not quite able to offset losses stemming from the disposal of several investment properties.

At the end of its last trading year on 31 December, Alpha's net asset value per share had widened to a 63.5p loss from the 50.2p loss it had returned twelve months prior.

Throughout the course of the year, AP disposed of two properties in France for a total price of £4.9m and sold its last two Spanish properties for a total of £1m.

Alpha held just one property in France as of 31 December - a 6,340 metres commercial real estate site, which is currently vacant.

Alpha's chairman Serena Tremlett, said, "Formal marketing of the trust's remaining property is ongoing and the results of the marketing process to date indicate that, although there is no certainty that a transaction will take place, if it does, the price achieved is most likely to be lower than the valuation at December 31, 2017. The trust will provide further updates on progress in due course."

"As the board has previously stated, the sale process will not result in any return to ordinary shareholders after repayment of the trust's bank borrowings, to the extent that this is possible, has taken place," Tremlett added.

Losses per share narrowed 20.45% to 10.5p.

As of 1400 GMT, shares had retreated 25% to 0.0750p.