Singapore-based investor takes control of stockbroker Novum Securities - sources
Here is a rare piece of upbeat news about the City's embattled stockbroking industry.
City sources said Epsilon Investments, a Singaporean investment firm, has effectively acquired a stake in Novum Securities, a stockbroker based in Mayfair, London.
Novum had been in talks to merge with Zeus Capital but the deal fell apart earlier this year after tax fraud charges were brought against Zeus Capital's founder, Richard Hughes, over a £134 million film investment scheme. Here is a link to the Financial Times piece on the collapse of the transaction with Zeus Capital:
https://www.ft.com/content/a9121984-c518-11e5-808f-8231cd71622e
It's understood Novum's deal with Epsilon - which is reportedly run by a woman called Zainab Binte Mohammed Omar - completed last week.
I'm told there won't be much change at Novum following the transaction - although one source said the stockbroker could look to rekindle its small-cap market making business in the New Year...