Sceptre Leisure wants to cancel AIM listiing

SCEPTRE Leisure, the Preston-based gaming group wants to cancel its AIM listing, arguing that its shares are undervalued and the listing costs around £250,000 a year.

The company, which has only been on AIM fsince September 2008, has called a meeting for shareholders to vote on the move.

Sceptre, led by chief executive Ken Turner, has seen the value of its shares steadily decline since reaching a peak of over £1 per share in the summer of 2009. It is now trading clsoe to a year low of 13p.

In a statement the company said:  “Following careful consideration, the board believes that it is in the best interests of the company and shareholders to seek the proposed AIM cancellation at the earliest opportunity.”

If shareholders approve the move, the last day of trading would be on June 27 and the listing would be cancelled the following day.

Setting out their rationale for the move, the directors said in their opinion, the trading price of the shares does not reflect the true value of the company;  given the overall market conditions for small listed companies, the directors believe that it is (and will continue to be) difficult for the company to attract substantial equity investment through its listing on AIM.

Furthermore they arged that: “The AIM listing of the shares does not, in itself, offer investors the opportunity to trade in meaningful volumes or with frequency within an active market. With little trading volume, the company’s share price can move up or down significantly following trades of small numbers of shares.”

Adding that the cost of legal fees and compliance costs were around £250,000 a year, Sceptre said it would put in place a third party trading facility to assist shareholders to trade in the shares.