For example it has jobbed in and out of Myhome shares and currently has 3.7 per cent.It does not confine itself to share trading. True, FIS represents a small part of Addworth’s year-end portfolio, which was worth £1.7m, showing a £764,000-unrealised gain. In his report for the year ended December, he says FIS was showing a 30 per cent advance. Now it must be nearer a 50 per cent loss.He will not sit happily on such a setback. With DTT shares down to 3.25p (against a 5.4p high) that could be wishful thinking. Indeed, FIS shares, 2.75p against a 5.5p high, reflect the likely loss of value.Addworth, the AIM-traded investment company run by colourful City character Mark Watson-Mitchell, is one of the 59 shareholders. But was he really irreplaceable?There was talk that the shares, floated at 4p, would be worth 5.7p in liquidation.

FIS invested in two franchise groups, DTT, a driving instruction business, and Myhome. But there was talk of a conflict of interest and O’Connell resigned.His departure stripped FIS of its franchise “king” The company relied upon him to produce the deals. It seems without his contacts, FIS feared it had nothing to offer. The idea was to take stakes in franchise operations, help develop them, and then bring them to the stock market Russell O’Connell, the man behind Myhome, was on the board. It is going into liquidation.Admittedly it is a voluntary winding up and the 59 shareholders can expect some return But I find its sudden death astonishing True, some compelling reasons are put forward.

Yet it is surprising that a company with an interesting programme and impressive backers should arrive on Ofex nine months ago, possibly spending £60,000 in the process, and is now planning liquidation at a cost of some £80,000.FIS was set up to invest in Britain’s booming franchise culture. Although an obscure little company, traded on the fringe Ofex share market, I have written about it on a number of occasions and even regarded it as a candidate for the No Pain, No Gain portfolio. One reason I refrained from recruiting FIS was the presence in the portfolio of another Ofex share – the highly successful Myhome International. I felt two Ofex constituents would, even for an exercise largely focused on smaller companies, represent too big an exposure to what is often a high-risk corner of the investment world, even if it can be hugely rewarding.
Still, this week Myhome cleared the way for FIS’s possible inclusion It is graduating to the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) The trouble is – FIS will soon be no more. I feel obliged to comment on the signalled departure of Franchise Investment Strategies. Its More Than retail brand is exceeding expectations, and all open parts of the business are profitable in spite of a challenging market There are rewards for buyers, if with a degree of risk..