A UK investment management company has revealed a big new stake in Oslo-listed LNG carrier owner Awilco LNG.
In a filing on Tuesday, Mirabella Financial Services of London said it had acquired 13.26m shares on Monday, a holding of 10.01%.
The filing was made by Mirabella officer Jonathan Mott. Mirabella is not known to have other shipping investments and it is not clear whether it is acting for itself or for a third party.
Mirabella has been contacted for comment.
Awilco LNG stock closed up 1.12% at NOK 0.90 in Oslo on Tuesday, making the 10% slice worth NOK 11.93m ($1.26m).
The move comes after UK tanker group Navig8 built its Awilco LNG holding to 19.63% this summer, in deals carried out under its own name and by UK lender Barclays.
This stake - the second biggest in the company - is now listed on the Awilco LNG website under the name of The Bank of New York Mellon.
The main shareholder remains Awilco AS on 38.56%, at least prior to Monday's purchase.
Morgan Stanley had 9.73% of the company.
Developing interest
The Navig8 group has been developing interest in the LNG sector for some time and it appeared it had finally decided to put some money to work in a countercyclical play, market sources said.
It was not thought to have made any proposals to management and its stake is viewed as passive for the time being, allowing it to learn about the sector.
With only two ships in its fleet, Awilco LNG has long been seen as a natural target for consolidation moves within the LNG sector.
Its fifth biggest shareholder, Norwegian shipbroker and financial player Astrup Fearnley, sold all its 8.69m shares in the summer. It had previously owned 6.56%.
The day before, the third biggest investor, Strawberry Capital, with 8.56%, also sold out, offloading 11.2m shares.
Mirabella is owned by ACA Compliance and says it provides investment advice to other investment firms or directly to funds. Clients include hedge funds and private equity funds.
Mirabella's UK accounts for the year to 30 June 2019 reveal profit of £1.08m ($1.38m).
