How fitting that Leonardo DiCaprio was in town for last night’s Baftas. His Wolf of Wall Street character would lap up the unsavoury treatment of London investors at the hands of the Ruia family.
Of course they have done nothing illegal by pumping up hopes for Essar Energy one minute, only to dump shareholders with a low-ball bid the next. But the stink that is rising from this company’s behaviour is worse than anything emanating from its Stanlow refinery in Cheshire today.
Essar is one of a procession of foreign companies drawn to London to tap into the City’s deep pool of capital. What better to burnish London’s international credentials than a United Nations of firms selling stock in the Square Mile? Fine, apart from the lax listing rules and questionable boardroom governance which have left investors nursing huge losses.
The capital’s reputation has been dealt a blow too. The investment bankers at JP Morgan Cazenove and Deutsche Bank who brought Essar to market should hang their heads today.
