Discreetly tapping the market

Two players undaunted by the glacial state of the new issues market are Giles Morland, managing director of Mirabaud Securities, and his colleague Kim Richardson, head of brokerage. They are lining up several candidates for flotation, including Jordan Oil, iodine oil specialist Iofina and Malaysian sugar substitute-maker Pure Circle, which hopes for £24 million.

Morland and Richardson, who recently helped Regal Petroleum raise £84 million, point to the global distribution network built up by the firm, which is owned by the 200-year-old Geneva private bank Mirabaud. ‘We do not make markets or take positions so we have no conflicts of interest,’ proclaims Morland.

Mirabaud can thus discreetly build up ‘very confidential lines of stock’ for its string of institutional clients, some of them sovereign funds and many from Europe. Mirabaud has a presence in Hong Kong and, since November, Dubai as well.

From their elegant West End of London office, Morland and Richardson argue that the firm, whose staff are ‘well paid’ and ‘loyal’, can develop its secondary market share profitably in a bear market. It is not all plain sailing, as they found in 2006 with photovoltaic roofing specialist Solar Integrated Technologies.

‘The founders sold their shares at £3,’ recalls Richardson, ahead of a collapse to 17.5p. Mirabaud had to sort out the management, attract new investors and arrange new fundings at 30p and 130p. Now bulls see Solar heading for the black in 2009.