McCarthy & Stone Said to Plan Meeting With Lenders in March

McCarthy & Stone Plc plans to meet shareholders and lenders next month as its new chief executive weighs options for the U.K. retirement home developer’s future, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

The company will announce the most recent financial results and trading outlook at the March 1 meeting in London, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

The Bournemouth, England-based business, which was taken over by its lenders in 2009, hired Moelis & Co. to explore options for its future after earnings rose, it said Nov. 26. It reported the appointment of a new chief executive, Mark Elliott, former head of Arena Leisure Plc, the previous month.

The company’s debt, which totaled 487 million pounds ($766 million) at Aug. 31, is repayable in April 2014 and a refinancing is one of the options being considered alongside a share issue or a sale of the business, the people said.

A McCarthy & Stone spokesperson, who asked not to be named citing company policy, declined to comment on the situation.

McCarthy & Stone’s term loan A is quoted at 93.5 pence on the pound, compared with 81.5 pence at the beginning of 2012, according to prices provided by Markit Group Ltd.

HBOS Plc, now part of Lloyds Banking Group Plc (LLOY), led banks arranging more than 1 billion pounds of loans to McCarthy & Stone to finance its buyout in 2006, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patricia Kuo in London at pkuo2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Faris Khan at fkhan33@bloomberg.net