ITV continues non-core sell-off with prop hire disposal

by Sam Matthews,, Brand Republic 11-Feb-05, 15:45

LONDON – ITV has sold its prop hire business Superhire for £8.2m to privately owned company Space Holdings, as it continues to sell off its non-core assets.

ITV's ownership of Superhire originates from Carlton's acquisition of the business in 1984.

ITV is also considering selling its stake in Arsenal Football Club as the news came last week that chief executive Charles Allen could be forced to pay £30m to increase its stake in the Premiership club from 5% to 10% under a deal arranged four years ago.

It is likely he would be more keen to dispose of the 5% stake in Arsenal than increase it further. If ITV looks to sell its Arsenal stake, it will also try lining up a buyer for its 10% stake in Liverpool Football Club.

The move is part of ITV's plan to sell off its non-core assets after the Carlton Communications and Granada merger.

ITV's sales process began last September when it disposed of Carlton Books for £3m. Later that month, the network sold its 5.5% stake in Thomson to Citigroup and UBS for £162m. In October, ITV sold its 18% stake in Australian media company Village Roadshow for £36m. Its total disposals so far total £268m.

ITV is also considering selling Carlton Screen Advertising to Thomson and offloading its stake in Australian media network, Seven. In total, ITV's non-core assets have been valued at a total of £550m.

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