SIR Christopher Evans, the entrepreneur, is understood to have decided against making a formal offer for Oxford GlycoSciences (OGS), the biotechnology company at the centre of a takeover battle, because of liabilities associated with the company’s property portfolio. 

Such a move by Sir Christopher, who was expected to launch a bid, leaves Celltech Group, the biotechnology company that has already tabled a £101 million cash offer, as OGS’s most likely buyer. The move means that OGS shares, which have been buoyed by interest from Sir Christopher and other potential bidders, are likely to come under pressure today. 

Sir Christopher had teamed up with fellow entrepreneur Alan Goodman to launch a bid for OGS because they were attracted by the company’s cash pile and its research interests in cancer and other diseases. 

The entrepreneurs have secured loans of £110 million from WestLB, the German bank, and were widely expected to table a bid in the next few days. However, it is understood they have been deterred by penalty clauses, running into many millions of pounds, associated with the termination of leases on OGS’s Oxford laboratories. 

Sources say that the financial due diligence carried out by Sir Christopher and Mr Goodman indicated they could offer only £90 million in cash, well below Celltech’s offer. 

The entrepreneurs had wanted to terminate the property leases, entered into several years ago, as part of a break-up of OGS, which would have seen its assets distributed among the unquoted biotechnology companies in Sir Christopher’s and Mr Goodman’s venture capital portfolios.