The board of Local Shopping REIT PLC is recommending that shareholders reject Thalassa Holdings Ltd.'s offer to buy the company, and to instead vote in favor of liquidating and winding up the real estate investment trust.

The board is calling for a meeting April 5 to approve the resolution that will allow it to petition the court for the winding-up of the company if the buyout bid lapses or is withdrawn, according to a filing. The board also said court approval for the petition is likely due to the advice it received.

Nonexecutive Chairman Stephen East said Thalassa's offer is "substantially less" than what shareholders stand to get from the company's 2013 investment policy. East added that the £9.0 million cash offer is 50% lower than the cash distribution that shareholders would have gotten from the liquidation proposal that failed to pass in December 2018.

The REIT's board also said the earliest closing date for Thalassa's offer is April 10, if it is declared unconditional.