Reichmann bridges Wharf bid gap

BID hopes for Canary Wharf are being kept alive by chairman Paul Reichmann after the five-month auction for the Docklands developer dramatically collapsed.

At CW's annual meeting on Wednesday, Reichmann revealed that he is working on a higher bid of his own, forcing him to stand down temporarily as chairman.

CW's independent directors threw out a £1.5bn offer from a Morgan Stanley-led consortium as too risky.

They had already rejected a bid from Brascan of Canada as too low, leaving no offers on the table.

CW shares jumped 25p on the news that Reichmann was stepping into the breach, strengthened by his view that 'the prospects for the commercial property market are set to improve'.

They slipped back to close up 11 3/4p at 241 3/4p amid worries that he will take weeks to put together a deal - if one emerges at all.

Reichmann, 72-year-old founder of the office complex, will stay on as an executive director.

Senior non-executive Sir Martin Jacomb takes over as chairman temporarily. Sir Martin admitted that the bid process had been 'immensely time consuming and, incidentally, expensive'. The non-execs are under fire for the way the auction has been handled.

Critics say Reichmann, who made it clear in August that he was considering making an offer if the others-fell short, has received preferential treatment. One insider said: 'He has not been subject to the same deadlines as everyone else.'

Morgan Stanley, which offered 220p a share in cash plus a stake in an Aimquoted takeover vehicle, worth 35p, is unhappy because just days ago the non-execs planned to recommend its offer.

Brascan, which revealed that its rejected cash offer was worth almost as much as Morgan's, is also bypassing the non-execs. It plans to lobby CW shareholders directly.