Last week, Nigel Green sold 240,000 shares in the Gibraltar-based cross-border product specialist, despite its share price rising to £0.50.
Discussing the sale, Green said his investment in the company, which has operations in Malta, was intended to be short term, and was made at a time when a growing number of individuals were moving their pensions out of the UK and into QROPS.
“Despite the share price recently rising to 50p, now that STM has further developed and grown and is a profitable, sustainable ‘tour-de-force’ in the cross-border product sector, my objectives have been achieved and my personal financial interest in the company will continue to be reduced in an orderly manner as the opportunity arises,” he said.
He added that the rise in share price “perhaps suggests” a growing interest in the company from third party investors.
In March 2012, Green purchased a 24% stake in the company as part of a £1.59m purchase of new shares in the company.
At the time, he claimed he invested because he believed that new pension guidelines would lead more clients to move their pensions to Malta, where STM had operations.
In July 2013, he sold 2.5% of his shares, before selling the majority in July 2014, which came in at over 6.7 million shares.
In March, STM reported that its pensions division had grown by 36% in 2014, which it said was driven by 150% growth in its Gibraltar Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes revenue.
