When Finelot was floated with £3.2m capital investment and a share value of 35p in December 2000, it comprised a gallery in St James and a Website selling high-value antiques.
With the company down to £200,000 of available cash and the share price currently trading at 1.75p, these poorly performing sectors will receive no further ‘significant’ investments, according to the chairman’s report last week.
Instead, the company is pinning its hopes on a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine FINE, launched in the United States in November 2001.
“If advertising revenue for FINE remains at the present rate then the magazine should be worth $21m by this time next year,” said Mr Bly. “We estimate that this should boost the value of Finelot shares to between 40 and 45 pence.”
• eBay are raising their fees charged to sellers in the UK and Ireland from February 1.
Final value fees will rise by 0.25 per cent on the selling price of all goods. The reserve fee will increase from $1 to $2 for all goods reserved at $200 upwards.
Finelot ‘will thrive’ – Bly
Finelot chairman John Bly reassured investors last week that the on-line dealership, which made a loss of £1.44m last year, should make a profit by 2004.
