Quayle Munro is going private

Merchant bank Quayle Munro is preparing to leave the stock exchange to save money and simplify its structure.

The company, which disposed of its Edinburgh office last year through a management buyout, is writing to shareholders to invite them to a meeting on 1 August.

They will be asked to approve the departure from the Alternative Investment Market and given the option of cashing in their shares or taking a stake in Quayle Munro as a private firm.

The group said its shares were illiquid, with just one transaction every two days on average, and the move would save it at least £140,000 a year.

Four former directors led the buyout of the Edinburgh office, which was renamed Quayle Munro Project Finance. The merchant bank has retained a 30 per cent stake in the spin-out.