People: Eking out the profits

Denham Eke, chairman of online gambling concern Betinternet, is not happy with the registrar of another company he heads, AIM-quoted Manx Financial Group.

He is raising £1.8 million at 9p in an effort to take formerly overstretched Manx Financial Group back to robust profit and blames problems in despatching some offer documents by Computershare Investor Services for delaying the funding by a fortnight.

Eke, who replaced vehicle insurance luminary Arron Banks at the helm after aggressive expansion led to problems, wants Manx to expand its successful retail banking operations in the Isle of Man and pinpoint acquisition opportunities in banking and insurance, with the help of finance director Douglas Grant.

The company’s 75 year-old Conister Bank Manx-licensed banking arm, headed by ex-Ministry of Defence nuclear weapons luminary and former Alliance & Leicester international chief Simon Hull, has avoided the toxic lure of fancy derivatives and sub-prime mortgages and is thought by local observers to be achieving margins of 8 per cent and more in asset-based lending to small businesses.

Arron Banks, meanwhile, as director and 20 per cent shareholder of another AIM counter, insurance broker Brightside Group, is taking a profitable part in that company’s current revamp. He and Brightside managing director Paul Chase-Gardener are selling the policy books, new business and policy renewal rights of insurance brands eCar and eBike to Brightside for an initial £15.5 million, with a further £19.1 million that will become payable if the two brands meet certain performance targets.