Plumber to make £100m splash on Plus

Paul Davidson, the colourful entrepreneur known as the Plumber and famous for his battles with the Financial Services Authority, will this week return to the public market with his new pipe repair company.

Mr Davidson, who made his millions selling a device to paint behind radiators, will begin trading as Fluid Leader Group (FLG) on the Plus market on Tuesday.

The company, which has raised around £5.5m, mainly through selling a 12 per cent stake to Sheikh Faisal al-Qassimi, a member of the ruling family of Sharjah, part of the United Arab Emirates, is expected to have a market capitalisation of up to £100m, making it one of the biggest firms listed on Plus.

FLG sells a reinforcing system to end oil-pipe leakage that Mr Davidson claims will "revolutionise the market". "We are moving to Plus this week," he said, "but we plan to bypass AIM and go for a full listing within two years."

Mr Davidson, who owns 54 per cent of the shares in the company with his son, plans to grow the company through acquisitions and says he has targeted three UK companies.

"There are lots of opportunities out there and we intend to buy them up where possible," he said.

Mr Davidson is best known for a four-year battle with the FSA, which began when the watchdog attempted to fine him for market abuse. A tribunal finally dismissed the case, ordering the FSA to pay Mr Davidson £725,000 – the most humiliating climbdown in its history.

(taken from: here)