The Jarvis Porter saga took a new twist this week after an investment company suddenly swooped to take a near 30% stake in the group.


Union Discount bought two tranches of shares on Monday (16 July) taking its holding to 12.8m, 26.6% of Jarvis Porters issued share capital. Well-known investor Peter Gyllenhammar, known as a "catalyst for change", is behind the move.


"Union Discount is becoming an investment vehicle to invest in companies we feel are undervalued on the market," said a Union spokesman.


"Jarvis Porter shares were trading very cheaply so we decided to take a stake. Fundamentally there is a good business there that doesnt justify the current share price."


If Union increases its stake to beyond 30% it will have to formally notify the Stock Exchange of its intentions.


"At this stage were comfortable with the stake we have, but were not ruling anything out," added the spokesman.


Jarvis Porter chairman Michael Maher said he was "relaxed" about Unions move. "Weve just got a different shareholder, thats all," he said.


When Jarvis Porter moved to the AIM market earlier this year, Maher anticipated it would lead to the group receiving more interest from investors. This week he quipped, "It shows that was right!".


Jarvis Porters share price had risen to 16.5p as PrintWeek went to press.


* Jarvis Porters Creative Packaging operation in Hinckley is scheduled to cease operations in the first week of August. No buyers have yet emerged for anything other than the assets of the business.


Story by Jo Francis