29th Jun 2015 17:02
LONDON (Alliance News) - Octagonal PLC Monday reported a widened pretax loss in its recently-ended financial year as it booked charges on shares and assets, but said it is confident that the investments it is making will be "rewarding".
The investment company, which does not generate any revenue, reported a pretax loss in the year to March 31 of GBP1.1 million, wider than the GBP188,000 loss it made the prior year. It said the loss included a share based payment charge of GBP234,000 and a loss provision on available for sale assets of GBP84,000.
At the end of the year, Octagonal had a cash balance of GBP549,000.
In April 2014, Octagonal acquired a 9.97% interest in Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd, a financial services company trading in global markets, including equities, fixed income, commodities, currency and futures, using its proprietary online trading platforms and clearing and safe custody systems.
Earlier in June this year, it announced that it would acquire the remaining issued share capital of GIS that it does not already own, although it will constitute a reverse takeover by GIS under AIM rules.
Should the acquisition complete, the enlarged group will become a financial services company, which provides settlement and safe custody services to smaller institutional funds, family wealth offices and high net worth investors along with other ancillary services, Octagonal said, adding that the purchase price comprises GBP1.5 million in cash and the issue of 336.1 million shares at 2 pence each.
In September, Octagonal acquired a 3.05% interest in Hume Capital PLC, a boutique London stockbroker which is also listed on AIM and in October, it invested GBP60,000 in "various quoted financial services businesses," it said.
"The board is confident that the investments made by the company are both encouraging and potentially rewarding. We will look to realise this potential over the future years in addition to continuing to review other investment opportunities. We believe the company is now best placed to move forward and to enhance future shareholder value," Chairman Donald Strang said in a statement.
Shares in Octagonal closed at 0.175 pence on Monday.
By Karolina Kaminska; [email protected] @KarolinaAllNews
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