13-plus-review 4.qxp 22/4/09 17:04 Page 13
PLUS REVIEW
PLUS Review
Influential participants in the PLUS-quoted share market are speculating about
the possibility of the lower tier of companies now traded on AIM moving to
PLUS-quoted. Leslie Copeland reports
S
imon Brickles, chief has launched £2 million of BILLIONAIRE UPS
executive of PLUS 8.5 per cent convertible ARSENAL STAKE
Markets Group, is loan notes. US billionaire Stan
understood to have agreed Rivington Street Corporate Kroenke has increased his
informally that a shift of Finance is helping PLUS- interest in football group
AIM’s smaller cap companies quoted St Helen’s with the Arsenal Holdings to 20.5
to PLUS–quoted might, in issue of the loan notes, per cent. He has bought a
theory, make sense after the which are convertible into £42.5 million stake from
attrition recently suffered by shares at 9.5p, against today’s fellow director Danny
its counterpart. Although a mid-market price of 8.75p Fiszman in a deal that
spokesperson at AIM’s senior (with a 1.5p spread). St makes Kroenke the
market parent, the London Helen’s, which won the 2008
Leslie Copeland, investment
second-largest individual
Stock Exchange, says “nothing Growth Company Investor
specialist, M&A Magazine
shareholder in Arsenal,
is officially planned”. PLUS company of the year behind Uzbek oligarch
The LSE suggests pressure is award, plans a new legal- Alisher Usmanov, who owns
coming from among the PLUS sector product and wants around a quarter of the
community. Andy Stewart, £250,000 of the money to shares.
chief executive of Cenkos fund its launch. Fiszman sold a third of
Securities, PLUS Market Managing director Norman his shares at £8,500 apiece,
Group’s second-biggest Kenvyn sounds bullish about valuing PLUS-quoted Arsenal
shareholder, says AIM’s present market reactions to the
“Cenkos chief
at £531 million. For some
problems are a function of the convertible issue. An 8.5 per time the driving force
stock market cycle. cent coupon may look high
executive Andy
behind Arsenal’s financial
He argues that “inertia will compared with a UK base rate
Stewart says that
development, he now holds
stick to AIM”. However, he of 0.5 per cent but it is lower only 16.1 per cent. However,
adds Cenkos does clear “a lot of than what St Helen’s charges ‘inertia will stick to he states the stability of his
business” through PLUS-listed, when financing small or the club’s finances was not
the parallel trading platform to companies’ core assets.
AIM’”
a motivating factor behind
AIM and much of the main The company reduced its his sales and he has “no
London Stock Exchange, pre-tax loss by nearly £100,000 current intention” to sell
“because it is a lot cheaper”. to £217,200 last year on any more.
PLUS Markets is taking turnover up 72 per cent to £1.3 “Although the current
AIM to the High Court next million. Loan loss provisions economic environment is
month over its refusal to allow swelled administrative costs by proving difficult for many
PLUS-listed to trade AIM nearly a third to £1.1 million organisations, the club still
securities without prior and interest payable rose 80 managed to report healthy
authorisation from the per cent to £459,300. half-year financial figures in
companies themselves. Kenvyn says St Helen’s is February he says.
striving to “realign itself into PLUS currently quotes
ST HELEN’S SEEKS £2M recession-proof sectors”, such Arsenal at £7,750 a share,
Loss-making equipment leasing as the new legal product and down from October’s 12-
specialist St Helen’s Finance care homes. month high of £9,250. ■
Mergers & Acquisitions 13
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