Board members bid to take over Investbx

BIDDERS looking to take over Birmingham’s online stock exchange Investbx following the demise of Advantage West Midlands are believed to include members of the current board, TheBusinessDesk.com understands.

Sources close to the deal said a number of bids had been submitted for the assets of the organisation following AWM’s decision last month to seek a buyer for the stock exchange.

“Current board members have definitely submitted a bid but in what form that is or in what direction they intend to take the organisation is not clear at this stage,” said the source.

Existing board members include such well known corporate figures as John Crabtree, Norman Price, a chairman of the Regional Finance Forum and David Thompson, a former chairman of Marston’s.

It is thought the board is keen to continue supplying vital finance to high growth firms in the region who currently cannot access funding through the banks. Where the funding to take the operation would come from is not clear at this stage.

Mr Crabtree, current chairman of property group Real Estate Investors and a former senior partner at law firm Wragge & Co, declined to comment on the situation when asked by TheBusinessDesk.com.

The identity of the other bidders is not being disclosed but it is thought a decision on the winning submission will be made before the end of the month.

The exchange’s holding company appointed accountant Mazars in January to find a potential buyer and an advert was placed in the Financial Times inviting expressions of interest.

AWM would not be drawn on the matter, instead an agency spokesman said: “We understand the FT advert generated a certain amount of interest. As a result, the board of Investbx Holding Company Ltd expects to be able to make an announcement in due course. In the mean time, discussions remain commercially confidential.”

In its Assets & Liability Plan, which is currently awaiting sign-off by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, AWM said its intention was to dispose of Investbx by the end of March to a private sector party using “an open and transparent tender process”.
Once the sale is concluded, the Investbx group would be wound up and the proceeds paid back to the agency, it said.

The exchange was launched four years ago with a view to helping high growth businesses find the funding they needed. Financing of up to £2m could be available with investors using the online platform to trade shares.

However, despite lofty ambitions only three companies have ever been floated – manufacturer Key Technologies; corporate events firm Teamworks Karting; and financial group Early Equity.