Blue Oar, now Astaire, fined 225,000 by LSE for breaching Aim regulations
STOCKBROKER Blue Oar Securities, which recently changed its name to Astaire, was yesterday hit with a £225,000 fine from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and publicly censured for breaching the Aim market rules.
The LSE said Blue Oar failed in its duty as a nominated adviser (Nomad) to Worthington Nicholls, now called Managed Support Services, for over a year between 2006 and 2007. It said Blue Oar did not adequately assess the firm’s appropriateness for Aim prior to admission and that it did not carry out appropriate due diligence or advise the firm properly on certain issues at and after admission.
In December 2007, following a lengthy accounting investigation, Worthington Nicholls said asset writedowns would be more than double what it had been expecting.
Astaire said it welcomed the conclusion of the matter and reiterated that none of the executives involved remain employed by the company.
The firm rebranded under the 49-year-old Astaire name last week as part of a restructuring under new chief executive Edward Vandyk.