TOM SCOTT has refused to talk about his investment in Southampton Football Club. The businessman has bought 550,000 shares in the club’s parent company, Southampton Leisure Holdings plc, at a cost of £253,000.
Mr Scott is a close business associate of former club director Mike Richards and sources close to the club said they believed the CI Traders boss might be trying to edge himself into a position where he could take full control of the Championship team.
When the Guernsey Press contacted him yesterday, he said: ‘I absolutely do not want to talk about it’.
Mr Scott now has about a 2% stake in the company and a spokesman from stockbroker Collins Stewart said buying a small stake in a public limited company could be a good way of getting into the business without being noticed.
‘Buying 2.9% or less is a good way of getting into a public company quietly,’ he said.
‘If you buy 3% or more, you have to let the company know about it and they will announce it to the Stock Exchange.’
Shares of companies that are listed on the Stock Exchange can be bought directly through the exchange.
Southampton Leisure Holdings plc is listed on the Alternative Investment Market whose rules state that any shareholder taking their stake above 30% is obliged to make a bid for the entire company.
‘Whether they are successful in that bid is a different matter. There are many different ways to take over a company, so I don’t think you can tell what somebody’s intentions are, said the spokesman.
‘You can either buy small stakes and build them up or some investors like to buy the whole company in one go.’
Article posted on 4th April, 2007 - 12.00am
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