The City Diary: First London tests the patience of its investors
Slackbelly exposes the good, the bad, and the ugly of the Square Mile
Sunday, 5 September 2010
First London, the investment bank that attracted attention last year for its links to a convicted fraudster and its role in the short-lived takeover of Notts County Football Club, has gone into administration.
The move, triggered by angry creditors, has spooked shareholders in the former public company, as they wait for the overdue payment of £173m of "special dividends" pledged when the bank sold its First London Asset Management (Flam) to the mysterious Swiss Commodity Holding (SCH) in October.
None of the three promised staged payments – £115m of which is now five months overdue – have arrived with the investment bank. Flam, however, is held by a British Virgin Island registered company called Coremin. I'm told it is the new holding company of SCH, which had connections to insurance fraudster Russell King, who was also linked with First London. Sitting on Coremin's board is Andrew Cosentino, a former First London director and a US lawyer.
That may seem overly complex, but fear not. Andrew Turner, First London's last remaining director, confirms my story and insists that shareholders "will not be waiting much longer" for their cash. I suspect they might not share his confidence, however.
A small world
On a completely separate matter, Turner confirms that one Lee Cole and one Linden Boyne have been assisting First London as advisers. Could this be the same pair who are currently on a joint ticket defending a class action law suit in the US?
There, the duo are accused of ramping the shares in a public company called Electronic Game Card in a case that was launched earlier this year. EGC was also a major shareholder in a company called Prize Mobile Group. Its corporate adviser? First London.
The full story and link can be found on the yhoo msg board for egmi.pk.
AI
