TCLARKE, the London-headquartered firm which powered the world's first electrically lit building - the Savoy Theatre - is to head into private hands.

The £91m buyout of the building and electrical outfit, announced yesterday, came on another sorry day for the already bruised London Stock Exchange.

First, retailer Superdry announced that it would delist as part of a rescue deal, then hedgies Sparta published an open letter to the bosses of FTSE 250 stalwart

Wood Group telling them to leave London due to an underperforming share price.

But the move of TClarke, which listed in London in 1949, into the hands of British firm Regent will provoke deep alarm.

Directors of the firm - which has been the electrical contractor of choice for everything from the Tower of London to the Shard and the Olympics - said it was materially underpriced by the market.

"Notwithstanding the strength of the business and the opportunities for growth, the TClarke directors realise that shares have consistently traded at a discounted valuation multiple to its core peers in the public markets.

"Further, the TClarke Directors recognise that the market for the TCLARKE Shares is relatively illiquid, making it challenging for TCLARKE Shareholders to monetise their holdings," a statement from the firm read. The language is almost identical to that used by other firms who bailed out of public markets this year.

The board of Wood Group, meanwhile, were told by top-10 investor Sparta that despite the strong performance over the past three years, the share price had failed to respond.

Describing a "mid-cap curse" that has seen a host of UK-listed firms head for private hands over recent years, Sparta said: "Whatever the reasons for this marketwide underperformance, as a transformation story with history of poor execution, you are a 'show-me' story and, as such, will feel the full effect of this apparent indifference from public markets.

"We urge you to be realistic that these dynamics will not shiftanytime soon when assessing how best to serve shareholders in the near term."

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper