A former high flyer in the Tech boom days - I bought back in at an average around 30p after it was obvious they had more cash than cap - took a few profits in the fifties but held most for a cash back deal but one day found them suspended with the cash missing .... a few peeps over on the dark side had a good laugh but I like the last laugh and maybe that's not far away ....


ains





Orb poised to strike deal with Izodia over 33m
By Simon Goodley (Filed: 22/02/2003) Telegraph


Izodia and Orb Estates, the two companies at the centre of a Serious Fraud Office investigation into 33m of missing cash, are understood to be on the verge of agreeing a settlement.

The deal, which is thought to have been provisionally agreed by both parties, has been struck just as Orb was to be ordered by a Jersey court to reveal the whereabouts of the missing funds, which disappeared from Izodia's account last year. A hearing had been provisionally scheduled for yesterday.

Orb is thought to have agreed to repay the missing cash, plus costs and interest, although timescales are not clear. Sources speculated last night that the deal could lead Orb into a sale of the 37 hotels it bought from Thistle Hotels for 600m last March.

Despite the deal, the SFO's investigation - which is separate from the Jersey hearing - continues. Its officers raided Orb's premises in December after receiving "an allegation of unlawful appropriation of funds" belonging to Izodia.

Orb is the largest shareholder in Izodia, a former software company which has been reduced to a cash shell. Izodia's only two directors during the period being investigated were Jarlath Vahey and Peter Catto, both of whom have ties to Orb.

Orb denies any wrongdoing.

Izodia admitted last month that most of its remaining 33m cash pile is no longer under its control. The exact whereabouts of the funds is still unknown, although the majority of the money - thought to be around 27m - was transferred to associate companies of Orb.

Both companies declined to comment last night.

Any sale of the hotels acquired by Orb from Thistle would add to the activity in a sector which is already at the centre of consolidation and merger speculation.

Coincidentally Singapore investment group BIL International yesterday said it might make an offer for the 54pc of Thistle Hotels it does not already own.

BIL, controlled by Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan, said it was considering paying a modest premium to Thistle's closing share price of 98.5p on Wednesday.

Thistle shares closed up 7.5 at 107.5p.

Change of directorship announced - Measham has resigned and replaced with Christopher Mills from Hambro



ains

but where's the ca$hpile ?

Diogenes. Thanks for that info re Pither - Very worrying as Metnor is (now probably was) on my watch list. If he is indeed involved could the cloak of Robert Maxwell have fallen upon his shoulders?

This story is like a wild goose chase

Orb Estates Plc, which borrowed money from Morgan Stanley to buy 32 Thistle hotels including the Thistle Kensington Palace in London, has defaulted on two loans and wants to sell its hotels, Morgan Stanley said.

``Orb recently decided to exit the hotel business and is currently in discussions with a number of potential purchasers,'' the second-largest securities firm told Orb bondholders this week, according to a letter dated Feb. 17 obtained by Bloomberg News.

Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's said they may cut some of the ratings on a 531 million-pound ($848 million) Orb hotel bond. Morgan Stanley underwrote the bonds last year after lending Orb money to buy the hotels from Thistle Hotels Plc, a hotel operator. Orb used the bond issue to repay Morgan Stanley.

Gerald Smith, a spokesman for Orb, declined to comment.

``Morgan Stanley can confirm a letter went out to bondholders this week concerning a number of matters related to the Orb group,'' said Alexander Northcott, a Morgan Stanley spokesman.

Last year the bonds, issued by Orb affiliate HOTELoC, received the highest possible rating of AAA at both rating companies, the same grade as the U.K. government, because they were backed by Thistle hotel revenues. Many companies come to the asset-backed market because it's easier to borrow when promising lenders revenues as collateral.

Orb defaulted on two loans to Morgan Stanley and one of its affiliates, according to the bank's letter. If the hotels aren't sold ``in a timely manner,'' Morgan Stanley may appoint a receiver to protect its loans, the letter said.

Shortfall

``Moody's has learned that there may be a shortfall of as much as 11 million pounds in the funding of one or more accounts of the borrower,'' the company said in a statement.

The sale of hotels might also be bad news for bondholders, because Orb had planned to convert three hotels near Hyde Park into high-priced condominiums, according to Moody's. A new owner might not follow those plans, the rating company said.

``With a change in ownership, we need to figure out what's going to happen,'' said Moody's analyst Charles Gamm. The hotels slated for conversion were Lancaster Gate Thistle, Kensington Palace Thistle, and Kensington Park Thistle, he said.

In its letter, Morgan Stanley told investors it hired an outside auditor, Ernst & Young LLP, to review cash flows set aside for bondholders.

The letter mentioned ``adverse publicity'' about an investigation by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office into Orb affiliates, and lawsuits brought against members of the Orb Group.

The SFO is investigating allegations by a member of the Orb Group that funds were misappropriated, said Jina Roe, an SFO spokeswoman, in a telephone interview. The SFO and police searched addresses in London and Jersey, she said.

Morgan Stanley in its letter said a sale of the hotels ``should not adversely impact'' the bonds

that sounds like old news snappy - when was it dated?


ains

it is old news just like this company is ains.

hmmmmmmmm ....... I really do not think you sould attempt to mislead people with old news snappy .... it's rather irritating and of no interest to anyone

don't be daft old fruit, this one is suspended and will probably stay that way.

:-o

I am neither a fruit nor old and it doesn't matter to you whether they stay suspended or not ..... but still no reason for you to post old news to try and mislead people ..... get a life

Oh ainsey old fruit there is no reason for your negative reaction

:-o

"I bought in at around 30p" !!!!

ROTFLMAO !!!!

On every bulletin board there is for the last 5 years
you have been long in these and in particular on Market
Eye from prices 7 downwards :-))

Keep up the lies ainsoph...you will never win !!!!

Gravy

duh ..... i bought a few at 30p and sold at over 30 ..... not a bad trade :-))

LOL !!!!!

You just cannot help yourself can you Keith !!!

The lies just flow :-))

When will it end ???

Gravy

jesus wepped ..... you are a sad little turd

LOL!!!!!!!!!

Fresh blow for Orb as Thistle sale turns sour

Secretive Jersey-based company may recoup less than it paid for hotel group

Jamie Doward, deputy business editor
Sunday April 27, 2003
The Observer

Attempts by Orb Estates, the secretive company at the centre of a Serious Fraud Office investigation, to sell 37 Thistle hotels to Newcastle tycoon Allan

Rankin for750 million, have come unstuck.
The Jersey-based firm has been trying to dispose of the hotels to Rankin for weeks in an attempt to pay off creditors. Rankin, a close business associate of Jon Pither, a 'serial' director and former adviser to Orb, said the deal was 'a dream come true'.

But sources familiar with the situation say Rankin is no longer in the running, leaving the way open for two other parties. An announcement on the eventual winner is expected within the next two weeks. The company leading the pack is said to be a financial bidder that has so far not been linked with the deal.

News that Rankin has failed to acquire the Thistle hotels portfolio could be a serious blow for Orb. The company needs to pay off outraged investors in bombed-out dotcom firm Izodia, in which Orb owns a 29 per cent stake. Shortly after acquiring the stake, 33m of the firm's cash was transferred into an account belonging to an Orb subsidiary, a move that prompted the SFO to investigate. The company also owes a number of banks more than 30m and the Thistle hotel group around 15m.

Although Rankin pledged to buy the hotel portfolio for 750m it is not clear how he would raise the cash. Sources say advisers for Rankin had started sounding out interested parties to buy chunks of the hotel group within weeks of him buying the assets.

His removal from the bidding war leaves open the prospect that the eventual buyer may end up acquiring the hotel assets for significantly less than the 600m Orb paid for them last year.

The hotel sale is being masterminded by Morgan Stanley. The bank is attempting to ensure that all parties are satisfied with the outcome and has presided over a complex series of discussions to produce a settlement.

One party keenly involved in the negotiations is Laxey Partners, which holds a sizeable stake in Izodia, has a rep resentative on its board, and has been vigorously pressing Orb to return the missing millions. However, in a move that once again highlights the Byzantine complexity of Orb's network of business dealings, it appears that the Jersey company has been involved in transactions with Laxey in the past.

In April 2002, Laxey sold a 17 per cent stake in Izodia to MU Nominees, a company that had bought a sizeable interest in another Orb investment, Atlantic Caspian Resources in 2000. MU Nominees bought the Atlantic Caspian stake on behalf of Jersey Asian Venture Fund ILP - a joint venture with Orb's parent company Lynch Talbot. The revelation will once again draw attention to the strange links between Orb and Izodia.

Last year, Pither stood down as Izodia chairman Pither following advice from the Takeover Panel. Investors had expressed concerns that, as a former director and close business associate of Abingdon Capital, Orb's main financial adviser, Pither was open to a conflict of interest claim.

Fresh blow for ainsoph as Thistle sale turns sour !!!

Jesus wepped ..... you are a prat gravy/dreamer/ollie/shagnasty/snappy etc etc .... the shares are suspended - they have been suspended for months

I think it's time for some positive action - maybe they should approach things in a more laterial way


ains


Izodia considers legal action on RBSI
By Astrid Wendlandt
Published: May 8 2003 22:54 | Last Updated: May 8 2003 22:54


Izodia, the former e-commerce software company, is understood to be considering whether it has grounds for action against Royal Bank of Scotland International arising out of the circumstances in which 27m of its cash was transferred by the Jersey bank last year.


Jenners, Izodia's retained law firm in Jersey, has been in contact with RBSI's lawyers. The bank said it would defend any proceedings that may follow.

Izodia said in January that most of its funds were no longer under its control after having been transferred to a company associated with Orb, the Jersey-based investment group that is Izodia's largest shareholder.

The funds are believed to have gone to Lynch Talbot, an investment company that has common shareholders with Orb.

Orb's offices were raided by the Serious Fraud Office in December as part of an investigation into allegations that it misappropriated Izodia's cash. Orb denies any wrongdoing.

Rory Macnamara, Izodia's chairman, said: "Our lawyers are looking at every possible avenue for returning the funds."

RBSI said: "Given Izodia's threat of litigation, it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific allegations they have made." The bank added that it had no intention of "acting as a guarantor of Lynch Talbot's liabilities" and would "vigorously defend any proceedings that may follow".

Izodia is engaged in legal proceedings against Orb in Jersey in an effort to obtain disclosure of how it disposed of its funds. Izodia's shareholders, which include institutions such as Prudential, Morley Fund Management and JO Hambro Capital Management and Laxey Partners, have been trying to get Orb to return the cash since last year.

They have been hoping that the Jersey investment company would return Izodia's funds once Orb sold a portfolio of 37 hotels it bought from Thistle in a 600m deal. But Orb has been trying without success for two months to find a buyer for the properties. RBSI said it would "co-operate fully with all relevant authorities".

The longer it drags on the less chance IZO shareholders have got of seeing any ca$h imho.

Best of British luck to any unfortunate shareholders but this does appear to be one wild goose chase.

Perhaps IZO holders could be offered a few free weekends in the 37 Hotels that Orb are trying to shift?