OVEREND, GURNEY, AND CO.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2807, 25 July 1866, Page 6

OVEREND, GURNEY, AND CO.

{mOiS. THE "TIMIS," MAT 24.) A meeting of shareholders, convened by Mesjr*. Sheppards, Pelly, and Allcard,' was held yesterday at the London Tavern, for f the purpose of forming a new company to preserve the goodwill of the late establishment j- Mr. '- Miles 'Coventry, » holder of forty ih»reB,J was' called to the 'cftair. " • Sheppatfd'said he had aplari to propbae which he hoped would meet with the support'of eVery one 1 present with a view to preserve the goodwill «f the busmest. He had consulted with a number of shareholders, and his firm fait that, as brokers to the old company, they ought to do erery thing in their power

to benefit the ahareholders. 'J'he company has given £500,000 for the goodwill of the business o£ Messrs. Overend £aud Garney, and there could be no doubt that it \Ya» a good business, and he believed it wa» well worth what they had paid foi it. Ho had sent circulars to the 2,300 nharehoJdera, consisting of bankers and others, with a view of obtaining an expression of opinion as to what should be done. They had received asiurances fioin sever»,l that the deposits when realised from the old company would be handed over to the new company. He had no doubt that if the new company were carried out on a proper basis it would be successful. They had already put forth a prospectus for a new company, under the Limited Liability Act. The capital waa propose) to be £1,000,000, in 100,000 shares of £10 each. The sum of £1 per share to be paid on application, £2 on allotment, £2 at three months, £2 at six month?, and £3 at twelve months, so that the capital would be paid in full, no additional calls could be made, and no fuither liability could exist. A clause would be carefully introduced iuto the aiticles of association that if one-third of tbe gcapitai was lost the directors should call a general meeting to wind up the company, thus protecting the property of the shareholders, and learinj a large balance to secure prompt payment to depositors. The business of the new company would be confined to receiving money on deposit, at call, or at fixed periods, commissions, and the discounting of bills carefully selected. The shares would be offered first to the shareholders ©f Overend, Gurney, and Co. (limited), and those not so applied for would be distributed to the public by the directoi'3. It was proposed to purchase the lease of the premises in which the business had been conducted, and to resume at as early a date as possible. He had letters from bankers and others as to the absolute necessity of such an establishment in London. It was indispensable to country bankers. He had the assurance of Mr. D. B. Chapman, who had retired from the firm some years ago, having been connected with it from 1817 to-1357, for forty years, that they had never had any losses, except one from a robbery, which wa3 immediately made good out of the reserve. Mr. Osborne said he was co-operating with Mr. Sheppard with a view to establish the new company. If by any means they could preserve the goodwill it would be of great value to those who subscribed to the new company. The £200,000 a year would be worth having. He had no information to give them as to the affairs of the company. They were at present in the hands of Messrs. Coleman, Turquand, aud Youngs, and so soon as a statement could, be prepared it would be submitted by the liquidators to the shareholders. Several shareholders asked for more information to enable them to decide as to what course they should puraup. Mr., Hoare said he would go and "ask tho liquidators any question the shareholders wished answered. He knewjthat it had been a most successful business, and Mr. Gurney had told him, a short time before the busioeis stopped, that he proposed the dividend should be 7 per cent., that £50,000 should be paid off for goodwill, and after that to put aside a very considerable reserve. But the pressure of depositors put an end to the possibility of going on, and he felt certain that no 'more information as to their affairs could be obtained at present. (A Voice : "Why not recognise the old company ?") He thought that was utterly impossible. Mr. Gurney was ready to assist them if a strong company could be formed for the purpose mentioned. After some further observations, Mr. Seer said he had come up from the country that morning, and felt much obliged to Mr. Hoare and other gentlemen for their suggestions, but his view was that if £10- or £15 a share were wanted to resuscitate the^compiny he was sure it would be forthcoming, and he for one would gladly pay it. (Hear, hear.) The concern was only stranded, and it only required sufficient capital to float it again. (Loud and continued cheers.) He then moved that in the present state of their information it was not expedient to launch a new company. The motion was seconded. Mr. Sheppard said he had anticipated that view, and had prepared a resolution for that purpose, but, after reading it, Mr. Seer said he preferred his own resolution. Mr. Kingscote said he had told Mr. Sheppard that hejj did not know what was hanging over them, but thought it was quite possible to revive the business. The Bubooribod capital oE the company was £5,000,000, of which £1,500,000 had been paid up, leaving £3,500,000 to call up. The liabilities were £20,000,000, of which £12,000,000 were on call and notice, aud £8,000,000 on depo»itj)f securities. They had taken over £2,800,000 from the original firm, etcured in various ways, £500,000 of which could be realized in six months, and £500,000 more in twelve months, consisting of £300,000 liabilities of public companies, and £200,000 on ships, &c.-, making £1,000,000 realizable in one year. He proposed that a call of £5 a share should be made, jwhich would give them £500,000, and they would realise £500,000 out of the other assets, making another £1,000,000. He proposed that they should immediately raise £2,000,000 on loan for one or two years, and, with a view to carry, on the business, to make a f further call of £2 10s. per share. This would give them £256,000. The shareholders bad given £500,000 for the goodwill, they had £2,800,000 dead weight to meet and realise, and they had no capital to doit with. They were £1,300,000 worse than nothing, so 'that with the first difficulty they must fall. It was silly to go on iv that way, and perfectly natural that such a result should follow. They had £2,800,000 locked up to begin with. By getting a few leading bankers to manage their affairs and take matters in hand, with something like what he proposed, they might go on again and preserve their property, but if they did not do that perhaps £10 or £15 a share would have to be paid to ' t wind up the concern, while, on the other hand, it would require only a call of £7 10s. to revive the business and to go on. Mr. Crosbie thought it much better to call up £10 a share at one to start the old business than to start a new company. (Cheers.) They had no business in the Court of Chancery ; the directors should have made calls. Even raise new capital on preference shares rather than remain as they were. (Cheers.) A very long discussion than ensued, and various propositions were made, which resulted, in a resolution to the effect that the meeting be adjourned to enable Mr. Kingscote to select a committee of seven shareholders, including himself as chairman, to make inquiries and take such steps as might be expedient for resuscitating the company, five to be a quorum, 'and to report the result as soon as possible. It was agreed that no member of the' Stock Exchange would be placed on the committee. Thanks were voted to Mr. Hoare and Mr. Sheppard for their exertions, and a resolution requesting the directors of the company to call a meeting of the company as soon as possible w«s carried unanimously. The proceedings concluded with a vote of thanks to the chairman.

Ebropk in Bank (Limited).— The European Bank (Limited) have suspended payment. This was intimated by the following notice posted on the'doors. The bank transacted a considerable foreign agency business, but^he pressure in the money market and the disturbed state of relations on the Continent has prevented its obtaining theTequired assistance :— "Thedirecfcors regret toannouucethatin consequence of the continued severe pressure upon the resources of the bank, they late last evening, after long and anxious deliberation, determined to suspend payment. They hope to make an early arrangement by which the depositors and customers will be saved from inconvenience. The European Bank (limited), Saturday morning, May 19." The European Bank (limited) was established in 1863. The capital is £4,000,000 j the subscribed capital £2,146,700; the paid-up capital is £644,490; and the reserve fund £31,393. There are five branches, and the last dividend paid was 5 per cent, per annum. The bank was formed by the amalgamation of the Union Bank of England and France, the English, Belgian, and Netherlandsßank, and the English and Irish Bank. When the London, Birmingham, and North Staffordshire wound up, it took over various accounts. The branches are at Paris, Marseilles, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Dublin. The head-office is at 83, King William street. It is stated that the liabilities of the European Bank will reach about- £800,000 or £1,000,000. They were last December nearly £2,000,000; but the directors foreseeing the present storm resolutely took measures for reducing them. The stoppage has been entirely produced by the late run through the panic^ The directors include Sir Robert Carden, and are believed to be very respectable men. * j

Bank or London.— The capital of the' Bank of London is £800,000, half of which io paid up, the shares being 40,000, of £20 each, with £10 paid. The proprietary is extensive and respectable, and the bank, which was established eleven years ago, long enjoyed a large and profitable business, which has now been destroyed by a number of imprudent a'dyances tttat have locked up too large a portion of its funds to enable it to stand against the discredit 'of the period, and such persistent attacks as those' which a numerous body of speculators in and out of the Stock-Exchange have lately been found to •rganise against a variety of establishments. The > liability of the shareholders is in this case unlimited,

the bank having been constituted on the old principle ; but there seems to be no apprehension that they will be called on that account to sustain loss in addition to what they may suffer from the deficiency of their capital, since ab the last meeting on the 17th of January the amonnt to the credit of reserve was £304,411. The dividend on that occasion was at the rate of 20 per cent, per annum, and the liabilities on current, deposit, and other accounts, were stated at £4,335,877. To meet the deposit accounts an ample amount of cash and approved billa have been placed in the hands of the Consolidated Bank, and all claims of this kind have therefore been duly met, but with regard to the acceptances the Consolidated Bank would undertake no commitment;, and these have consequently been returned with the answer, "Cannot pay at present." The 3hares varied on the day of suspension from 12 to 9, leaving off at 11 per share. After hours they were offered at B£. There has latterly been a steady but general decline in their value. When the Consolidated Bank shall have absorbed the business, it is expected proceedings will be taken to wind up the Bank of London.