Police open probe into Pandoras float -A Leighton connection

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DENMARK'S financial regulator has called in police to investigate a bank involved in the disastrous flotation of Pandora, the jewellery brand best known for its sparkly charm bracelets.

Stockholm-based Nordea bank has been accused by Denmark's watchdog of publishing bullish research urging clients to buy shares in Pandora without disclosing that it owned a 3.9 per cent stake in the company.

Pandora's stock has since collapsed 80 per cent.

Chaired by Allan Leighton, the former Royal Mail chairman, the Danish jewellery company went public in October in Europe's second-biggest flotation of 2010, attracting a heady valuation of more than $4.7 billion on the Copenhagen stock market.

To the embarrassment of the blue-chip banks backing the offering, Pandora's fortunes have since taken a sharp turn for the worse with a profits warning this month in which it admitted that sales growth had ground to a halt because its jewellery was too pricy.

Denmark's Financial Supervisory Authority said in a research note published weeks before the flotation that Nordea ought to have told investors it had a specific financial interest in Pandora and that its objectivity was therefore compromised, rather than merely relying on a general disclaimer.

A Nordea spokesman said the bank accepted that it had made a mistake, adding: "We agree with this decision and we will change our procedures."

Pandora's rocky fortunes are a headache for all the flotation's sponsors. It was advised by Rothschild and its bookrunners included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JP Morgan.

Pandora's bracelets, rings, earrings and charms have been a hit in Europe and are sold in 420 shops in Britain. However, the company's chief executive quit earlier this month as Pandora admitted that it had misjudged consumers' mood by overpricing its products.

Mr Leighton, who described the warning as a "screw up", has come under fire from analysts who suggest he should have been keeping a closer eye on management.

[DGP1]

Mr Leighton, who described the warning as a "screw up", has come under fire from analysts who suggest he should have been keeping a closer eye on management.

Why, he never did when he was at RM........in fact didn't the really bad bullying start under his tenure