In the clover
William Brandt and Co, the merchant bankers backed by big five bank money, were determined to get in early on the play in backing what they thought was to be a new go-go share-printing takeover act in Adep- ton, run by twenty-three-year-old Mr Row- land.
The shareholders of William Hudson have it made. If they accept, they should take cash, since they can always take a risk on a few Adepton shares later as a flutter. If they don't accept, or rather if 80 per cent don't, Mr Rowland is going to be in a discomfort- ing personal position since surely William Brandts have taken personal guarantees from Mr Rowland whose reputed £2.4 million personal fortune may be sorely hit.
Poor old William Brandts I think will be taking a-pasting either way since they are in for £8 million if all the vendors take cash and it is unlikely that they will get back their money on William Hudson property realisations for a long time, if ever, unless land values rocket in the Dagenham area following the Foulness decision. It may be
difficult to place all the Adepton shares they are landed with unless someone bids them up a lot after the battle is 'won', if that is the alternative on which they are relying.
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