Hedley name turfed out
THE public company bearing Tom Hedley's name - Hedley Leisure & Gaming Property Fund - is about to formally end its association with the embattled Cairns businessman.
As well as formally ending the management agreement the hotel property trust had with Mr Hedley's private company HLG Management Pty Ltd, moves have begun to change the company name.
The move, which has been foreshadowed for several months, will take place after the company's annual meeting on November 26.
In line with the internalising of the HLG management, the trust deed provides the name cease to include the words 'Hedley'.
Hedley Leisure & Gaming chief executive Peter Armstrong, who will become the company's managing director, said Mr Hedley was "happy with the changes" which would totally separate the public company from the private Hedley businesses which are now in the hands of administrators.
"As far as the public company is concerned, it is a positive step which has been under discussion for some time," Mr Armstrong said, referring to how the management changes are likely to be seen in the market.
"The changes give investors in the fund certainty about who is managing and leading the company.
"The name change will indicate the fund is a totally separate entity with its separate management team to private Hedley businesses."
This had been reinforced with the move of HLG’s head offices to Melbourne. No new name had been decided, although Mr Armstrong said it was likely to be a generic name reflecting the nature of business as a property trust.
The end of the management agreement with Mr Hedley's private company will save HLG $2.7 million in 2010 and $22 million over the remaining eight years of the agreement.
Mr Hedley will not receive any compensation for the termination of the management agreement.
In a release to the stock exchange on Monday, HLG chairman Colin Henson said the the new internal management structure would give the property trust the ability to maximise value from the 100-plus hotel and bottle shops it owns.
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End of line for Hedley name: The public company bearing Tom Hedley's name - Hedley Leisure & Gaming Property Fund - is about to formally end its association with the embattled Cairns businessman.
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