LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Manx Financial confirmed on Tuesday that Brexit-backing businessman Arron Banks is exploring options with regards to his interest in the group, which may include the disposal of some or all of his 21.9% stake.
The statement followed a Times report earlier in the day suggesting that Banks hired bankers to sell a multi-million pound stake in the lender days before it emerged that the National Crime Agency was opening a criminal investigation into the pro-Brexit campaign backer.

The NCA said that the Electoral Commission had found "reasonable grounds" to suspect that Banks was not the source of millions of pounds in loans to the Leave.EU campaign.

According to The Times, an adviser working for Banks contacted potential buyers early last week to gauge their interest in his stake in Manx, which is worth nearly £4m.

Manx, which stressed that it currently has "no other information" regarding Banks' intention, noted that any acquisition of a shareholding of 10% or more requires regulatory approval from both the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority and the UK Financial Conduct Authority.

The company added that chairman Jim Mellon - also a donor to Leave.EU - has informed the board that he has no intention of selling his 16.4% stake in the group.

On Tuesday, Banks' insurance company, Eldon Insurance, and Leave.EU were each fined £60,000 by the UK Information Commissioner's Office for data misuse during the 2016 referendum. The proposed fine follows an investigation into the misuse of personal data from subscribers of the political campaign, which found more than a million emails were sent to the marketing mailing lists of Banks' Eldon and GoSkippy companies.

At 1600 GMT, the shares were down 4.9% to 9.99p.

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