LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Walker Crips Group is to be taken private by its largest shareholder in a £6m deal, the embattled wealth manager announced on Monday, sending the stock rocketing.
Singapore-based broker-dealer PhillipCapital, which already owns 29% of the London-listed firm, has offered 14p per share in cash, valuating Walker Crips at £5.96m.

The price is an 87% premium to Friday's closing price of 7.5p.

As at 0830 GMT, the stock had surged 69% to 12.68p.

Walker Crips, which traces its history back to 1914, has endured a difficult period recently, as it battles with legacy compliance issues and stricter UK regulations.

In July, Phillip Brokerage - the parent company of PhillipCapital - was forced to step in with an emergency £5m loan, repayable at the start of 2026.

Recommending the offer on behalf of the board on Monday, non-executive director Mark Nelligan said: "Walker Crips has faced a number of challenges in recent years.

"The offer represents an attractive premium and offers shareholders the certainty of cash in the near term, while also mitigating the risk associating with the repayment of the working capital facility in January.

"Under PhillipCapital's private ownership, without the costs and regulation of a listed company, Walker Crips will be able to pursue its strategy while benefiting from the capital and backing of PhillipCapital."

The company also provided an update on trading. Confirming it had launched a comprehensive review of the business, it warned it did "not anticipate a near-term improvement in financial performance".

It continued: "The growing complexity and breadth of the group's service offerings have increased the resources required to monitor and regulate its fund management activities.

"As previously announced, the continuing costs of addressing historic legacy issues, and the changed regulations relating to interest paid on clients' cash deposits, have meaningful negative effects on the outlook for the current year's profits."

Walker Crips, which first listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1996, is due to announce results for the six months to 30 September in December.

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