Betting on Tchenguiz

IFX Group , the foreign exchange and spread betting firm, was the focus of traders’ attention yesterday and it had little to do with the company’s half-year results. Not that there was anything wrong with the figures – they met expectations and the company talked of a strong start to the second half of the year.

No, the reason for the interest was talk that stockbroker Durlacher, down 10p to 62.5p, had received an order to buy 14.9% of the company from property tycoon Vincent Tchenguiz.

The word in the Square Mile last night was that Mr Tchenguiz had failed to get hold of the stock after institutional shareholder rebuffed his approach. However, traders reckon the order has not been pulled and the entrepreneur is mulling whether to come back and offer 120p for stock.

IFX’s biggest shareholders are Schroder Asset Management, Deutsche Bank, Invesco and Tradition, a Swiss broking group that raided the market for 10% of IFX earlier this year. Tradition’s purchase in February was seen by market professionals as shrewd move given the widespread belief that the foreign exchange industry will soon experience a wave of consolidation.

Mr Tchenguiz is no stranger to the industry. He started his career as a foreign exchange dealer and is still an active player in the market. From his townhouse in Mayfair he runs an operation that he claims takes positions as big as $2bn – $3bn (£1.05bn – £1.57bn) some weeks.

According to analysts the main attraction of IFX to a bidder is its strong balance sheet, particularly the fact that it has £15.8m, or 55p-a-share, of free cash. IFX shares closed 6p higher at 98p, valuing the company at £28m.

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