PLUS news

Share market operator PLUS Markets Group goes from strength to strength, having handled £8.83 billion of share trades in the first three months of this year – more than the £7.5 billion handled for the whole of 2007. And according to Simon Brickles, chief executive of the fast-expanding firm, it could find itself handling ‘more than half of the share trading in half of all the publicly traded companies in Britain’.

Furthermore, April witnessed a number of interesting newcomers debuting on its PLUS-quoted facility. These included the exotically named Hellenic Capital, an investment vehicle for which just under £270,000 was raised. Its directors, which include youthful Ruegg & Co rainmaker Gavin Burnell, are looking for reverse takeovers of companies in the technology or renewable energy sectors that have Greek connections, either in terms of location or ownership.

The other debutantes were gold resources group Ascot Mining, whose strategy entails the acquisition and rehabilitation of gold mining concessions in Costa Rica, and Geo Genesis Group, a Marshall Islands-registered investor in and adviser of emerging markets companies, particularly from China, looking to raise funds in the US, EU and
Hong Kong.