Perpetual declines Irongate waiver, reserves position until end of Jan

Irongate chairman Kevin Podmore. Photo / Glenn Jeffrey

Irongate Property, one of the units of the St Laurence group that escaped receivership, said its trustee has declined to grant a waiver for two breaches of its Trust Deed.

"The Perpetual Trust board has reserved its position until the end of January 2011, when, in the event that either of the two breaches remain, it will review its position," Irongate chairman Kevin Podmore said in a statement.

The breaches stemmed from valuation losses and provisions taken in Irongate's first-half results. The property manager last month reported a net loss of $13.9 million in the six months ended September 30, from a loss of $28.2 million a year earlier.

Net rental income fell to $3.7 million from $6.5 million.

Irongate has $50 million of bonds due to be repaid in May 2011 and last month said "in the current environment a level of uncertainty still exists" about its ability to make the payment.

The shares last traded on the Unlisted platform at 4 cents on December 2. There were bids for the stock a 1 cent and offers at 4 cents.

Podmore said Irongate's strategy "is to reduce debt through asset sales and the company continues to pursue this sales programme."

"If successfully completed, this should result in the trust deed breaches being remedied," he said.