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Blue Oar Securities plc (now known as Astaire Securities plc) (“Blue Oar”), an AIM Nominated Adviser (‘Nomad’), has today been fined £225,000 and publicly censured in respect of its conduct. These sanctions were imposed after Blue Oar was found to have breached the AIM rules in relation to Blue Oar’s conduct as Nomad to an AIM company, Worthington Nicholls Group plc (now Managed Support Services plc) (“the Company”) between 6 June 2006 and 29 June 2007.
The fine and public censure were imposed because Blue Oar:
- failed to adequately assess the Company’s appropriateness for AIM prior to admission;
- failed to carry out appropriate due diligence and to advise the Company properly regarding certain disclosures at admission;
- failed to advise the Company properly in respect of certain announcements after admission; and
- failed to liaise properly with the Exchange.
Nick Bayley, Head of Trading Services, said:
“Nomads have key responsibilities to assess a company’s suitability for AIM and to provide ongoing advice and guidance to their AIM company clients. It is essential for maintaining investor confidence that these responsibilities are properly fulfilled before and after an admission to AIM. The Exchange will therefore not hesitate to take disciplinary action against a Nomad that fails to fulfill these responsibilities”.
During the relevant period, Blue Oar failed to adequately assess the Company’s appropriateness for AIM and failed to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Company addressed certain business and operational issues before its admission to AIM in June 2006. Following its admission to AIM, the Company made announcements to the market which were misleading and/or omitted material information, on:
- 10 November 2006
- 21 February 2007
- 1 May 2007
- 29 June 2007
In reaching this public censure and financial penalty, the Exchange acknowledges Blue Oar’s co-operation during its investigation.
