CountyGlen to seek return of shares to stock market

THE directors of the delisted publicly-quoted company, CountyGlen, have told shareholders they are determined to get another stock market quotation.

Speaking to the handful of share-holders who turned up at its annual general meeting in Dublin yesterday, CountyGlen chief executive, Mr Niall Duggan said the company would now consider seeking a listing on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

The stock exchange cancelled CountyGlen's listing on the Dublin market last month. The exchange said the company had failed to show it had a suitable business for quotation. Its listing had been suspended for the previous four years.

Answering shareholders' questions at the meeting, Mr Duggan said he was "very surprised" at the stock exchange's latest move which had come as the "biggest disappointment" to the board. "I don't believe that decision was in the best interest of shareholders," he added.

Mr Duggan stressed however that the board's immediate priority was to now look at getting its shares quoted on other exchanges, particularly on the AIM market. "We want to get liquidity back into the shares, as soon as possible." Asked by one shareholder if they would all be better off if the company was liquidated, Mr Duggan said he did not believe this was the best option to be pursued.

"While the situation in the company is not brilliant now, it is still better than it was two years ago. We are very conscious of our obligations, and are determined to restore share holder value," said Mr Duggan. CountyGlen, he added, was currently looking at two potential acquisitions, which would allow the company to secure another listing. A deal could be completed within the next four to eight weeks, shareholders were told.

Chairman Mr Ambrose Kelly said that while the company appeared to be making relatively slow progress, a "settling down period" was nonetheless required. "You can't just convince people overnight that things are different" he said.

At the moment, Mr Duggan said, CountyGlen was still "only crawling" but he remained optimistic on the acquisition front.