Subject to the shareholder green light, IFA outfit Elite Strategies is turning into a shell after finding life ever so tough in the financial services industry. The bad news accompanied interim figures to December revealing a swing from pre-tax profits of £13,299 to losses of £968,519, on turnover of £834,205 (£369,623). The interim loss followed a £225,073 deficit last year to June. Sadly month to month trading remained loss-making despite a major cost-cutting programme and management efforts to build up critical mass organically and by acquisition. Elite's directors feel the company is too small to sustain the costs of a public listing. Subsequently, the operating businesses, ESP Financial, ESP Investments and Pensions and Croesus Financial Services, an IFA business, are being sold to Croesus Holdings, a company with which its chief executive Jonathan Fry is connected, for around £150,000. Directors predict the shell will stay on AIM and try to complete some sort of reverse deal, and will have around £100,000 in cash reserves and net assets of £78,000. The search won't be limited to any one sector, and directors are optimistic about finding a deal. An investment here is a gamble on a good deal being found, and of that there can be no guarantee. Avoid.