Braemar, the London-listed shipbroker, faces being plunged into crisis as a delay to the publication of its full-year accounts threatens to trigger the suspension of its shares.
Sky News has learnt that Braemar, which has a market capitalisation of approximately £92m, is likely to tell investors within days that it will be unable to meet a previously announced deadline of the second half of June to release its figures.
City sources said this weekend that BDO, the company’s auditor, had notified the company of concerns about certain items in its accounts.
The nature of those was unclear this weekend.
BDO is understood to have drafted in experts from FRP Advisory, another professional services firm, to investigate the situation.
One source said that Braemar’s shares faced being suspended as soon as this week.
Braemar provides a range of services to the global shipping industry, and is a prominent international player in the sector.
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Its services include advising on shipping investment, chartering, and risk management.
In February, the company boasted that it had recorded record sales and profits in the year to 28 February.
If its shares are suspended, it will be the latest in a string of companies to face such a challenge, with Wandisco and Revolution Beauty among those to have been forced to do so in recent months.
Braemar, which has been listed in London since 1997, declined to comment.
