Langbar International

Not much...

From FT
Search for missing cash
By David Blackwell
Published: December 23 2005 02:00 | Last updated: December 23 2005 02:00

The saga of Langbar - which arrived on Aim as Crown Corporation in 2003 - is too complex to go into here.

Suffice to say that, this week, David Buchler, a recovery expert, was appointed as executive chairman among sweeping board changes aimed at stepping up the search for £365m of missing cash.

What lessons can be drawn from such tales of woe? The most obvious is that the cardinal sin is to disappoint investors, especially in the first year of life as a public company. The goal should be to exceed expectations, however modestly, to build credibility. The point of floating is to get access to capital for growth.

Gordon Brown - who has been chancellor for most of Aim's life - should also take note, if he is thinking of tampering in the next budget with the tax breaks that attract investors to Aim. The number of companies arriving on the market, the amount of money raised and the size that some companies have attained must be a temptation.

Best leave well alone and remember instead the tax flowing in from the companies that have made the grade - and from their employees.

The stories of United Carpets, Sarantel, Langbar and others - think of Regal Petroleum - show Aim is still a market for the risk taker. Killing the tax breaks would kill a goose which, for all its faults, has laid more than its fair share of golden eggs.