Another Slater on the market

THE Slater clan rides again. After the legendary Jim's Slater Walker and son Mark's more recent Slater Investments, elder son Chris has popped up at the helm of a stock market vehicle, writes William Kay.

Chris Slater is head of Arion Properties, which until last week was part of Harmony Property Group and so far owns 30 flats in Edinburgh. To avoid the formalities of a full listing, dealings are initially under the restricted Stock Exchange Rule 4.2 matched-bargain basis, but Chris is looking for an official quotation when the company becomes eligible.

Arion is the name of a warhorse in Greek mythology, and Jim said: "We intend to make acquisitions."

The Slater family see the Scottish capital as one of Europe's fastest-growing cities in the next decade, but a more prosaic reason is that Chris wed a local lass from nearby Forfar.

A case of mixing business with pleasure, perhaps. Nevertheless, the Slater touch should ensure interest in the shares from the thousands who have bought Jim's books of investment advice.

At 11p, the shares are trading just above the company's £750,000 asset value.