TERRY MCCRANN

$10,000 on Winx on Saturday. They could certainly have greater faith in Chris Waller to look after their interests.

In any event that $170 would make only a small dent in their loss – it would trim it to $1860. And to recover that ‘princely sum’ they would have to increase their investment in WP from around $16,000 to over $26,000.

These calculations are obviously on the state of play on just day one yesterday.

The WP share price could of course pick up; investors might warm to the deal to buy Jacobs and double down on the company’s presence in the US.

The WP share price could of course also go down further – and potentially, significantly further.

It would only take a small further drop in the next two weeks to discourage any sane retail shareholder from subscribing for new shares. WP closed at $15.81 yesterday. You have to pay $15.56 for new shares.

Now directors, and those ‘smartest guys’, might think – maybe hope would be a better word – that shareholders would happily put their hands in their pockets to pay $15.56 for new shares which could by then be trading at, say, $15.26. I suggest not.

There is one unusually big – indeed humungous – ‘retail’ shareholder, which is indeed the company’s biggest shareholder with a 24 per cent holding. It’s the Lebanese-Dubai-Saudi Dar Group.