Ousted boss to swoop for PlaneStation

OLIVER Iny, ousted chief executive of PlaneStation, may launch a bid for the airports and property company. In a letter to a PlaneStation shareholder action group, which has called for his reinstatement, Iny suggests he could make a takeover offer.

He said he was considering his options, including a takeover and calling an extraordinary general meeting to be installed as PlaneStation chairman, either as a figurehead or in charge of corporate development.

He added: 'I anticipate announcing my plans in connection with PlaneStation at the end of this month.'

Iny was the architect of the group's strategy to develop small regional airports with its flagship Manston Airport in Kent, which recently won its first big customer, low-cost airline EUjet.

He founded the company, previously Wiggins Group, and though he owns less than 1% of the shares, his family trusts own almost 6%.

Iny was forced out of the company last month, weeks after shareholders, including Prudential, backed a £46m refinancing. Prudential, which has a 14% stake in PlaneStation, and two Swiss-based investment funds led the revolt and were instrumental in replacing Iny with corporate recovery specialist Martin May.

It is thought they were concerned about the slow progress of asset sales at PlaneStation, which were designed to strengthen its balance sheet.

But some of PlaneStation's 44,000 small investors believe that Prudential is planning to break up the company, which could realise an estimated 10p a share - much more than Prudential originally paid.

Though shares closed last week at 4.53p, valuing the group at £96m, they dropped to 2.45p last year, having been as high as 45.74p in 2000.

Stephen Lock, for the shareholder action group www. PSsilentmajority.org, said his members, many of whom had bought at prices much higher than today's share price, feared a break-up would leave them out of pocket.

The action group is trying to secure support from enough shareholders to call its own extraordinary meeting to reinstate Iny and block any break up moves.