Seymour Pierce 'received £80m bid approach'

Seymour Pierce, the investment banking and fund management group which last week parted company with its chief executive, is understood to have received takeover approaches earlier this year valuing the business at up to £80m.

The announcement last week of John Mackay's departure, plus a warning of a "substantial" trading loss for the year just ended, sent Seymour Pierce shares tumbling by a third to 3p, valuing the company at £22m.

But it is understood that Keith Harris, the high-profile chairman of Seymour Pierce, received several bid approaches over the summer, valuing the fund management arm at between £40m and £60m and the entire group at £80m. It is not known how many approaches were made but they are thought to have come from European financial groups.

News of the approaches will put pressure on Mr Harris to clarify the position when he gives investors an update on the strategic options for the group on Wednesday.

Last week Mr Harris indicated that the group may now be broken up. There is speculation that he may attempt a management buyout of all or part of the group.

With a market capitalisation of £22m, Seymour Pierce is worth little more than its cash pile. The plunge in equity markets has hit the valuation of both the investment banking and fund management arms. The fund management arm has £4bn of funds under management while the investment banking business has advised on several high-profile deals, including Richard Desmond's purchase of Express Newspapers.

A spokesman for Seymour Pierce confirmed that some approaches had been made for the fund management arm, but denied there had been bids for the group as a whole. "If there had been a serious approach for the business pitched at £80m the board would have had to enter discussions," he added.