GlobalCapital plc has announced that it has sold all the shares held by a subsidiary company, Central Landmark Development, in Metropolis, the huge office and apartment block that was to have been erected next to the old national stadium in Msida.
Only the excavation of the site has been completed and the result is a huge hole in the midst of the Msida-Ta’ Xbiex-Gzira agglomeration.
Terms for the sale had been agreed last August. The shares were sold for a total consideration of €3.8 million, the par value of the shares being transferred. The sale was closed on 5 November, the company said.
The divestment of this shareholding, the company said, will enhance its flexibility in its finances and also enable further investment in its front office infrastructure in line with the company’s strategy to focus on growing revenues in its financial services division and improve efficiencies in its back office operation.
Over the past months, the company has restructured its top management team through the appointment of Bashar Khatib as its new chief executive officer. Mr Khatib brings to the company a wealth of experience he has gained from his involvement in the financial services sector for over 20 years and through the positions he held with a number of multinational companies in the US, Europe, the Far East and the Middle East.
As to the company’s main lines of business, the company reported a marginal overall decline in revenues compared to the same period during 2009 resulting in a delay in the company’s return to profitability.
However, the life insurance business and the investment services business have registered an upturn in new business with net inflows of premium and investments respectively when compared to the same period last year.
While confidence is returning to the markets, the directors said, the company continues to operate in a competitive and challenging environment.
The company’s operational structure is being further streamlined through cost rationalisation while focusing on its core profitable lines of business to create value to the shareholders.