GPG's Newbury Racecourse takeover bid fails

LONDON (Reuters) - Newbury Racecourse's (NYR.PZ) top shareholder, Guinness Peat Group (GPG.L), failed in its hostile takeover bid on Tuesday, after fellow shareholders failed to back its 34.6 million pound offer.

Newbury, home to steeplechasing's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup and the Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes flat race, twice rejected bids from GPG which has built up over a 27 percent stake.

GPG went hostile with its bid but failed to get the necessary 50 percent backing from shareholders after only 5.55 percent of the other shareholders accepted its offer.

GPG has complained that Newbury management is planning to sell off 50 acres of the racecourse to a housing developer on the cheap and has called for the plans to be put to shareholders as well as for greater representation on the racecourse's board.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by David Holmes)