Activist investor Hanvover lifts stake in Regenersis to 14%

HANOVER Investors, the activist shareholder which orchestrated a boardroom coup at media group STV three years ago, has built up a significant stake in Scotland's second largest electronics employer.

The London-based company, which has a history of forcing changes at companies after buying sizeable shareholdings, has upped its stake in Regenersis from 468,000 shares to more than 6.3 million, more than 14 per cent of the Aim-listed company.

The company typically invests in businesses which it believes are undervalued or underperforming. No-one was available for comment.

It says it expects "to play an active role" in the companies it invests in and "seek positions of influence, usually with significant equity stakes".

Shares in Regenersis - formerly known as Fonebank - have risen strongly so far this year but are still well below their peak levels of more than 150p seen four years ago. Shares closed at 69p on Friday, valuing the company at 29.8 million.

Oxford-based Regenersis bought Scottish tycoon Richard Emanuel's Inchinnan-based mobile phone repair business Total Repair Solutions (TRS) in 2009 in a 6.25m deal.

Regenersis employs around 1,100 staff between its Inchinnan site and at Glenrothes, where it repairs laptops, set-top boxes, iPods and satellite navigation systems. TRS, which has been rebranded Regenersis Glasgow, employs 600 at its site close to Glasgow airport.

Last month Regenersis extended its eight-year relationship with gadget insurer CPP by renewing a two-year contract valued at over 15m to repair laptops and mobile phones.

In 2007, Hanover was involved in a shareholder coup at the Scottish media group SMG which saw chairman Chris Masters step down and chief executive Rob Woodward appointed.