Now Cats is away, Chinese come to play – with £285m

REMEMBER Telit Communications? It’s the AIMlisted ‘internet of things’ provider that hit the headlines in 2018 after it emerged that its chief executive, Oozi Cats, was in fact a fugitive called Uzi Katz on the run from the US authorities.

Since then Cats, who owns almost 13 per cent of the company, has left the business and the shares have been on a rollercoaster ride, initially crashing but then rallying as predators – including a mysterious Chinese shareholder called Run Lian Tai Management – began to circle.

Talk about a bid from the Chinese and also Canadian group Sierra Wireless has been circulating the City for 18 months but so far no formal offer has been forthcoming.

However, there was a frisson of excitement among the racier punters last week after TMT Finance reported that China-based Sunsea – an investor connected to the AIM company’s Chinese shareholder, Run Lian Tai Management – is preparing to launch a bid for the business as part of a consortium at a significant premium to the current share price of 130p.

The mutter is that a £285 million offer from Sunsea could be sent to LSE in the next few days.

BURBERRY felt the impact of the Covid-19 crisis earlier than most UK firms given its popularity with Chinese shoppers.

In March, it warned that sales were down by as much as 50 per cent in the previous six weeks.

Its Chinese stores had by then started to reopen, but those in Europe and the US were closing. The luxury fashion house’s annual results are out on Friday, and Swiss bank UBS reckons global retail sales have fallen by about 30 per cent for the three months to March.

The key will be any sign of a spending spree since China’s lockdown ended.

OFFICE giant Land Securities scrapped its final dividend last week, so this week all eyes are on Great Portland Estates to see if the London office and shop landlord will follow suit on Wednesday to preserve cash.

Investors will also be looking for any changes to its business strategy in the wake of the crisis. About 10 per cent of Great Portland Estates’ portfolio is flexible office space.

It might want to reduce that given that people have now realised they can work from home almost cost-free instead of forking out large sums for a tiny desk in an uber-modern office – even if there is beer on tap.