Avangardco, the Kiev-based egg producer, is planning to legally challenge the Russian-backed government’s plan to force the compulsory sale of Yuznaya Holding farm, the largest poultry farm in Crimea. The London-listed group claims its right to defend in both national and international courts “any illegal claim on its assets”. This threat of a compulsory sale is the latest in a string of challenges for the company since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine. The group has had to reduce operations in Crimea in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions since fighting began, and has had a feed mill in the east of the country occupied by separatist militants. These developments have affected 22% of the group’s laying hens as of the end of 2013 and assets responsible for 19% of the company’s revenues last year. The rating agency Fitch Ratings, states that the political instability in the region and Avangardco’s exposure could harm the company’s future ability to service its debt.
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