Back in November I (Mike Buse) was contacted by a land agent we have dealt with before, offering 622 metres of trackbed between Bratton Fleming and Wistlandpound reservoir. The trackbed for sale was part of a much larger transaction; I did ask if the trackbed would still be for sale if the larger deal fell through and the agent confirmed that the trackbed sale was not dependant on the larger contract. We exchanged legal details and waited to hear back from our solicitor.
In the mean time we then announced our appeal and our shareholders have been amazingly supportive. After two months with no news I contacted our solicitor who confirmed he had sent an email to the sellers solicitor but had received nothing back. I also spoke with the land agent who seemed quite happy saying that COVID and the vast amount of house sales trying to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday meant that we were probably at the bottom of the list, and whilst this seemed plausible we did still have concerns, the solicitor then sent another email.
We waited another month and I checked again with our solicitor and land agent still nothing. This brings us up to 8th February ; again I chased the solicitor and land agent but still nothing. Then out of the blue on the 11th February the draft contract arrived, needing some alterations, but finally we were on course.
We made the corrections required and returned them to our solicitor, but then on the 18th of February we received the following disappointing news from the land agent. “Further to our recent discussions, we write to confirm that the vendor is no longer proceeding with the sale of the above property. The reason is that the land he was buying is no longer available to purchase.”
What more can I say on this for the moment other than how bitterly disappointed we all are as I am sure you will be.
Moving forwards, Exmoor Associates, from early on, has tried to have more than one negotiation at different stages going forward, so we can confirm today that another acquisition is fast approaching. This owner will not be using a land agent, as soon as we have further details we will get back to you, all fingers crossed.
Finally we are asked many questions on various platforms regarding how much, where, when etc. This really is not very helpful when you are involved in delicate negotiations with land owners. These questions are asked by a very tiny percentage of people, some not shareholders in Exmoor Associates. This is always inevitable but thank you to all those who understand why we are not forthcoming with this information. I can be contacted on 01206 734030 or 07776 202105.
5 thoughts on “Trackbed Latest”
I guess we can assume, that if the land owner finds another plot of acceptable land, then the sale will be back on for the trackbed?
622m is a lot to lose … however, with patience comes good things .
Land owner is obviously happy to sell to EA, so just got to keep him happy and wait for the right time.
Don’t know about assume, but hope, at least.
Ah well, hopefully it’ll be available before too long and it gives time to concentrate on the other acquisition. It’s not really that bad news.
EA’s hard work and success lead me to wonder whether administrative support, based in Barnstaple, may help ? There are several options varying from a home-based computer to premises? This would shield our negotiators from dealing with enquiries, some inevitably of little interest from non-shareholders.
Thanks for your thoughts Steve. At the moment the directors are coping without too much stress but it is something to bear in mind for the future.
Tony