Like David, you can deny it

After the merry havoc of Steinhoff, the rumour mill has been buzzing with the news that the mysterious Viceroy is hunting for another target that is South African, large, aggressive and successful. In previous years they would have had to look no further than the Springbok rugby team, but sadly the final criterion rules out the current squad, and speculation as to the identity of the latest victim has darted between Aspen and various real estate investment trusts.

Viceroy is deliberately shrouding itself in mystery, maintaining complete anonymity and providing the minimum of information possible about its operations and intentions. Clearly a situation where the mere pointing of a finger is enough to get the investor community into a flat panic is a little suboptimal, unless of course you were short-selling and preparing to feather your nest on the back of the rumours. Viceroy has responded by encouraging people not to speculate on companies it is researching and emphasising that it “complies with the laws”, which is likely to have calmed the market about as much as throwing petrol on a smouldering fire.

Aspen has had to take to Sens to express its bewilderment, stressing that it’s never been in touch with Viceroy and has no price-sensitive information to disclose. But it finds itself in a similar situation to that faced by David Cameron when confronted by ludicrous allegations that he had taken unusual liberties with a severed pig’s head. You can deny it, but it’s what people will remember. Aspen is highly geared and acquisitive, but the last time I checked that’s no crime.