Griffin Securities UK was established in April 2004 and is still largely, but not wholly, in the early stages of its development. The objective is to establish an indigenous UK private client broking/investment banking firm in the UK. It will broadly offer in the UK the kinds of services now offered from New York by Griffin Securities inc. to a comparable UK client base of private investors and small cap. corporate customers. These will focus largely on the AIM market and its regulatory framework which will make operations to that extent, distinct from those in the US. The difference in small cap market culture is expected will give Griffin Group something of a creative edge to its operations.

To date, Griffin Securities UK has actively pursued a policy of acquiring AIM shell companies into which selected private businesses have been reversed. It is a style of small cap corporate business that appears to make the best economic use of the AIM market. Griffin Securities UK takes significant investment in AIM listed shells and builds capital and shareholder funds by taking profits when the opportunity arises. Stephen Dean and Griffin Finance Director Vincent Nicholls FCA are the authors of these operations in the UK.

moneyplus, you and me both. see CRB ( now MGP )and their lacklustre performance since Griffin involvement and retreat! grev is obviously taken by them and who wouldn`t be with such `shining` results !! as I posted on CFP thread before though, why is SP on only 5.6 P/E and I would like to see some immediate benefit of Griffin involvement with CFP as they must have a string of deals in the pipeline ??? if their past year is anything to go by.

moneyplus & snakey: Point taken. Never thought Dean was a saint. Griffin does however have its attractions. It somewhat reminds me of RAB Capital who are no saints either.

This is an extract from UK Analyst which seems to agree with your sentiments to some degree:

Dean, aged 54, attracts his fair share of criticism as well as admiration. His critics will point to things that have not performed as well as expected but his admirers will point to his energy, creativity and spirit of enterprise. He started his business life in contract building, founding Deane & Bowes Group in 1977 and serving as an executive director of the company 1991 -1995. In 1993 he extended his business interests into property development and property maintenance with the foundation of a new business, the Dean Corporation, admitted to the Official List of the London Stock Exchange in 1997 and in 1998, de-merged its housebuilding business into Artisan (UK) plc, an AIM listed company which he chaired until 2002. He has held non-executive directorships of companies engaged in telephony service, leisure, software consultancy and financial services. In 2000 he acquired in a personal capacity eighty per cent of the equity of the small investment banking business of Griffin Securities in New York under the management of the equally enterprising 44 year old Adrian Stecyk. It is Steyck who is now the driving force behind this business and as the market takes that on board, some of Dean's critics may look at the business more objectively.

Shares in Griffin Group jumped 1p to 6.5p after coverage on the stock was initiated by Growth Companies & Equity Research. It said that, on its own forecasts, the shares trade on a September 2006 price/earnings ratio of just 4.3, which it said does not appear to be demanding. It argued investors may have concerns that the management of this venture is yet to prove itself sufficiently or not understand the acquisition strategy and a change in perception could prompt a re-rating.

CFA Capital Group PLC
18 January 2005

CFA CAPITAL GROUP PLC
HOLDING(S) IN COMPANY


Pursuant to section 198 of the Companies Act 1985, the Board of CFA Capital
Group plc (the 'Company') today received notification that, as a result of the
disposal of 60,000,000 ordinary shares of the Company on 17 January 2005,
Griffin Group PLC no longer has a notifiable interest in the ordinary shares of
the Company.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

UK Analyst Monthly Roundup

Griffin Group
We initiated our coverage of Griffin Group on Monday January 17th. Today it has announced that it has placed its entire holding in AIM listed CFA Capital at 0.24p per share realising 144,000 in cash. That makes little difference to our P&L or balance sheet estimates.

Investors quite obviously have concerns about Griffin's lack of track record and about some of the previous ventures of chairman Stephen Dean. That is reflected in the lowly rating. If Griffin can deliver on its profits and cashflow forecasts those concerns may be eased and that gives the potential for the shares to be re-rated..

Elite Strategies PLC
28 January 2005


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 28 January 2005


ELITE STRATEGIES PLC ('Elite' or the 'Company')
SIGNIFICANT SHAREHOLDING

The Company were informed yesterday that on that date Griffin Group plc acquired
5,250,000 Ordinary Shares (the 'Shares') at 0.078p per Share, resulting in a
total holding of 188,750,000 Shares or 7.25% of the issued share capital.


This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

Just noticed that someone bought 2,350,000 Griffin in two lots of 1,175,000 this morning at 6.53p per share.

Great thread, plenty of info. Had gff on my watchlist for the past month, any idea why the drop in sp?

Have you read the accounts? Griffin Group is run be Stephen "el-Lardo" Dean, a person with links to illegal foreign boiler rooms, who has been criticised by the Takeover Panel and who basically runs a business of screwing over shareholders.

See: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_article_id=396298

And: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/columnists/article.html?in_article_id=397988

el-Lardo is in the business of making money and his business is making money for himself, last year he paid himself the grotesque fat cattery sum of 2,739,470! Yes, you're not reading that incorrectly, he paid himself 2.7m, even though the total net assets of GFF are only 1.9m.

For more on Stephen Dean take a read of

The Dean factor, why you should avoid GFF
http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=9722324&sort=whole

You would have to be mad to buy any company that Stephen Dean is involved in.