The deal was due to be approved tomorrow, 1 April, but Sandpiper's Board of Directors has said the sale will instead be terminated as it has been "unable to fulfil the conditions" of the agreement.

Pictured: The Board of Directors has had to pull out of the purchase of the Guernsey Pub Company as the corona virus pandemic affects business interests across the Channel Islands. (Image from SandpiperCI.com) 

Sandpiper had to meet the criteria to get the placing shares on the Official List of the International Stock Exchange. That was the only criteria it had left to meet to buy the company but it says the effects of the covid-19 outbreak across the Channel Islands means it hasn't been able to do that.

It means the purchase of well known sites such as the Rockmount, the Imperial and the Slaughterhouse as well as brands including Blue Bottle Gin, has been scrapped, with Sandpiper warning there may be a wider impact on its interests outside of hospitality too.

"The Board of Directors of the Company regrets to announce that due to the effects of covid-19 to date and the uncertainty surrounding its future effects, it has been unable to fulfil the conditions of the placing agreement required to achieve admission of the placing shares to the Official List of The International Stock Exchange, which was the remaining condition to the sale and purchase agreement required to complete the acquisition of The Guernsey Pub Company Limited," a spokesperson said.

"Therefore, the Company has served notice to the vendors to terminate the sale and purchase agreement with effect from tomorrow, 1 April 2020."

Pictured: Three of the sites Randalls owns. (Image from Randalls website). 

All pubs and nightclubs across the Bailiwick were forced to close on Friday 13 March, as part of efforts to curb the spread of corona virus. Although those which served food were initially allowed to stay open at mealtimes, they have also since been forced to shut for an unspecified length of time as well.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey went into lockdown on Wednesday 25 March putting further pressure on those businesses which had stayed open to offer a takeaway service, and Jersey has also now gone into lockdown.

SandpiperCI said the situation has impacted across its entire portfolio, which includes clothes shops and grocery stores in both Guernsey Jersey, and that it might have a wider impact on investors' interests as the situation continues to develop.

Pictured: The George shop in St Martin is one of the franchises run by SandpiperCI. (Image from Sandpiperci.com).

"The Board is closely monitoring the implications of covid-19 on the business of the Company and its group," a spokesperson assured.

"The situation is fast-moving, with the Government of Jersey announcing additional measures to slow the spread of the infection on Sunday evening, which came into effect yesterday morning.

"The measures implemented by both the States of Guernsey and the Government of Jersey require the closure of all non-essential shops and place material restrictions on physical retail businesses. As a result, all of our clothing and home shops in Guernsey and Jersey are temporarily closed while the food stores remain open.

"We are continually evaluating and taking action to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdowns, as well as running various scenarios to assess the potential financial impact.

"The Company will make further announcements if any material factors emerge that might affect investors’ interests."

Pictured: The Slaughterhouse is one of Randalls' flagship premises.