Sir; While I cannot disagree with the facts in Julian Hunt's editorial on the Interflora situation , I do feel that the analogy between that and the proposed merger of Nisa-Today's and Costcutter could almost certainly be debated.
I have to acknowledge first of all that I have no more detail on the proposed deal than any other Nisa-Today's member at this point in time. But since all member directors on the 18-strong Nisa-Today's holdings board voted to take the merger proposals to the wider membership, surely there should be some merit in studying the final proposals, rather than simply rejecting them out of hand.
I personally believe that the single biggest issue facing Nisa-Today's is that Costcutter, as a Nisa-Today's member, represents about 35% of its overall buying power. It must be remembered that acquisitions of food and drink retailers have been widespread in recent years. So if Costcutter were to be bought by one of the major supermarkets, as many other Nisa-Today's members have been, such as Bells Stores, Jacksons, Leathleys and Europa, it would create a serious volume deficiency that would need to be filled. We haven't heard how much the total savings achievable by combining the two businesses would be yet, but I would guess it could well be massive.
As for the potential for Icelandic bank Kaupthing making money out of the deal, I think that its capacity to do so would be significantly limited because of the proposal that Nisa-Today's members should hold a 51% stake in the newly created business. That said, Kaupthing should surely be entitled to a reasonable return on its investments.
I'm also told that every Nisa-Today's member could stand to get a £50,000 windfall if the merger goes through. Given that, as a member ourselves, Harry Tuffins paid £1,500 for the shares originally - that isn't a bad return.
I have to acknowledge first of all that I have no more detail on the proposed deal than any other Nisa-Today's member at this point in time. But since all member directors on the 18-strong Nisa-Today's holdings board voted to take the merger proposals to the wider membership, surely there should be some merit in studying the final proposals, rather than simply rejecting them out of hand.
I personally believe that the single biggest issue facing Nisa-Today's is that Costcutter, as a Nisa-Today's member, represents about 35% of its overall buying power. It must be remembered that acquisitions of food and drink retailers have been widespread in recent years. So if Costcutter were to be bought by one of the major supermarkets, as many other Nisa-Today's members have been, such as Bells Stores, Jacksons, Leathleys and Europa, it would create a serious volume deficiency that would need to be filled. We haven't heard how much the total savings achievable by combining the two businesses would be yet, but I would guess it could well be massive.
As for the potential for Icelandic bank Kaupthing making money out of the deal, I think that its capacity to do so would be significantly limited because of the proposal that Nisa-Today's members should hold a 51% stake in the newly created business. That said, Kaupthing should surely be entitled to a reasonable return on its investments.
I'm also told that every Nisa-Today's member could stand to get a £50,000 windfall if the merger goes through. Given that, as a member ourselves, Harry Tuffins paid £1,500 for the shares originally - that isn't a bad return.
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