THE DREAM of a stock exchange listing has turned sour for outsourced services group Newcourt, with the founding directors now looking to take the company private in a management buyout.

Over the past year, the company's share price, listed on the Irish Enterprise Exchange, has declined by almost 90 per cent, down from €1.45 last October to just €0.22 yesterday. The company has also experienced a corresponding decline in its market capitalisation, which has fallen from €125.11 million to just €19.8 million in the year to October 9th, 2008. The group is also listed on London's market for smaller companies, the Aim.

As a result, the directors believe a stock market listing no longer holds any value for the company, with little appetite among investors for smaller quoted stocks. In a company statement yesterday, the directors highlighted that the company was no longer benefiting from the advantages normally associated with a listing, such as a liquid market for investors, easier access to capital, the use of shares as consideration for acquisitions and a raised investment profile.

"As a result, the company will now be faced with carrying the additional costs associated with a listing without any of the benefits," it said.

The founding directors - chief executive Ted O'Neill, non-executive Phil Sykes and executive Hugh O'Neill - have already received permission from the board to explore the possibility of securing third-party equity and debt funding with a view to making an offer for the group.

Other members of the senior management team, including Newcourt's chairman James Osborne, are expected to participate in such an offer. However, a deal will be dependent on the ability of the directors to secure the finance.

In 2005, the company raised about €14.4 million when it listed on both the IEX and Aim, at a share price of €0.70, in a move which gave the company a market value of about €48 million.