Company linked to Ashmore gets trade licence

Pilot View Capital Ltd, a company associated with the former Goodbody trader Mr Bruce Ashmore, has been granted authorisation to trade by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA).

Mr Ashmore told the Fyffes/ DCC insider dealing case this week that he had left Goodbody in 2001 to set up a hedge fund but had encountered difficulties regarding compliance issues that he said his former boss, the managing director of Goodbody, Mr Roy Barrett, was trying to blame on him.

In order to set up such a new business, authorisation is required from IFSRA.

Mr Ashmore said he was contesting "very vigorously" his dispute with his former employer over the issue of a reference.

Pilot View Capital Ltd was granted authorisation by IFSRA on January 26th last to act as an investment business firm. The company can now provide investment advice, business services and discretionary portfolio management.

The company was incorporated in June 2002. Its financial statement for the period to December 2003 gave its directors as Mr Ashmore and Mr Gerard O'Reilly. Mr O'Reilly is another former Goodbody employee. The company did not trade that year.

The annual return to December 2003 showed the company as having two issued €1 shares, with each share held by a nominee.

On January 21st, 2005, Mr O'Reilly, who had taken over as company secretary from Mr Ashmore, signed a return of allotments form showing 62,499 shares each had been issued to him and to Mr Paddy Shanahan, who has an address in London, on December 21st, 2004.

A form advising of a change in director or directors was sent to the CRO in September 2004, but was returned and so is not available. Therefore the make-up of the board at the moment is not clear from the CRO filings.

None of the individuals connected with the company could be contacted last night. During the week Mr Ashmore told The Irish Times he did not want to discuss his dispute with Mr Barrett, as it was the subject of legal proceedings. There was no comment yesterday from Mr Barrett.

Mr Ashmore was giving evidence in the Fyffes/DCC case because he was involved in the three trades in February 2000 that are at the heart of the case.