Savoy Asset Management said last Friday that it had been approached by a potential buyer, although the name of the suitor has yet to be disc...

Savoy Asset Management said last Friday that it had been approached by a potential buyer, although the name of the suitor has yet to be disclosed. The announcement comes after Savoy said last November that it was looking to sell the company. The sale has been prompted – at least partially – by an ongoing dispute between Global Investment House, an investment company run for the Kuwaiti Souad al-Sabah family, which owns 25.4 per cent of Savoy. GIH has been, for some time, attempting to oust Savoy’s chairman Kenneth Clarke, the former UK Chancellor, and its chief executive, Christopher Saunders, a former member of parliament. GIH’s efforts are being led by board member Stefan Allesch-Taylor – an increasingly powerful player in the City of London, who also represents GIH’s interests at Savoy. Mr Allesch-Taylor is leading a campaign to have Mr Clarke removed from the chair of Savoy which he has held since 2000. At an extraordinary general meeting at the firm in early November, Mr Allesch Taylor said Savoy had “appallingly managed” client money. He pointed out that the firm’s shareholders’ funds have declined by 54 per cent, its cash position has declined by 60 per cent and it has made losses in the three years to 2004. Mr Allesch-Taylor is currently behind the newly launched institutional stockbroker, Fairfax, which was set up by a group of former stockbrokers from Collins Stewart. Savoy currently has around £1.1 billion ($1.9 billion) of assets under management. It is listed on London’s junior stock exchange AIM and had a market capitalization of around £18.5 million in early January.