A shareholder meeting is scheduled for 31 July. If the vote is “yes”, the firm will cease Alternative Investment Market membership on 8 August, the company had said in a statement on 9 July.

The firm listed in 2000. Its share price, which at the flotation was 160 pence per share, has sunk to around 3.0 pence. The fall highlights how financial firms, even if their underlying business model is relatively strong, can be hit by swings in market sentiment. The IFA industry, for example, has suffered in market perception due to expected rising regulatory costs from the UK’s forthcoming Retail Distribution Review. The RDR aims to stamp out use of commissions and rebates.

However, since the original statement on 9 July, there has been controversy about the move. One analyst, Paul Mumford, senior investment manager at Cavendish Asset Management and owner of Lighthouse Group shares as part of his AIM Fund, has criticised it. In a statement sent to this publication, he wrote: “The Lighthouse Group management clearly thinks that there might not be much of a future for the company once the RDR reforms come into effect. Whether this fear is justified or not, the manner in which they are going about de-listing for AIM is shoddy to say the least, and will disproportionately hurt the majority of shareholders in order to benefit the few," he said.

“The company is in a decent situation at present, with a market cap of £6 million and £11 million in cash. The directors only hold seven per cent of the business and may be looking to get a quick sale following the de-listing; yet since the announcement the overall share price has plummeted from 5.75p to 3p. The least the management could do for the other 93 per cent is table a cash offering at the value at the time of the announcement. Should no offer be forthcoming I would urge fellow shareholders to vote against the de-listing, as given the way in which it is being done it can only hurt their interests,” Mumford had said.