Pinewood considers AIM move

PEEL-owned TV studios business Pinewood has said that it is considering moving its shares onto the AIM market after being informed by London Stock Exchange that it can no longer maintain a full listing.

The company no longer qualifies for a main market listing as less than 25% of its shares are freely available to investors.

Peel Group owns around 71% of Pinewood Shepperton’s shares following a £97m takeover bid for the company last year. Its plan was to take the firm private, but Stockport-based jeweller Warren James Holdings built a 27% stake in the company, which is enough to block any bid to de-list the company’s shares.

On Friday, Pinewood’s board said that following a notice by the Financial Services Authority stating that its shares will be taken off main exchange on May 31, it is now “considering all options including a possible admission of its securities to trading on AIM”.