Subsidiary of celebrity fund succumbs to credit crunch

Accountancy firm Grant Thornton has been appointed administrator to a key subsidiary of UK celebrity fund manager AAIM Group as the liquidity crisis continues to take victims in the UK. Several media sources suggested that the crisis affects the entire AAIM Group, that counts TV presenter Sir David Frost and Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as leading shareholders and advocates.

However Grant Thornton's mandate relates solely to AAIM's subsidiary JCCO 114, which was formerly known as AAIM Ltd. The subsidiary is believed to be connected to the Symmetry Fund and 10 related special purpose vehicles covering a range of property types in Europe. The rest of the AAIM Group continue to operate and are not covered by the administration order.

AAIM launched a £2 bn (EUR 2.3 bn) acquisition programme for its European Symmetry Fund in partnership with Bank of Scotland Corporate, a division of HBOS in September 2006. The Bank of Scotland committed £100 mln of equity to the venture. The fund concentrated on investing in commercial property in Western and Eastern Europe, as well as the UK.

AAIM has raised over £500 mln in recent years, in part thanks to its use of celebrity shareholders like Ferguson, Frost and Pop Idols juror Simon Cowell.

AAIM on its website says the Symmetry fund has been substantially invested. In a call for new investors, the company adds: 'Such was the success of the fund, that AAIM is looking to extend it to £4 bn.