Time up for Grenfell and Ascend

The shaky capital market is claiming a few more niche providers, including Grenfell Securities and Ascend Group.

Grenfell Securities, the manager of two mortgage funds, called in receivers at the end of last week, the Financial Review reported.

The firm manages the Grenfell First Mortgage Fund and the Grenfell General Fund. Jospeh Hayes and Tony McGrath of McGrathNicol are receicers of both fuinds and also of the corporate entity, according to the newspaper and ASIC records.

The two funds have about $60 million under management according to the newspaper.

Acend Group, a niche investment bank, resolved cease trading. The firm appears to have reached this decision last Friday but only advised the Newcastle Stock Exchange, where it has a listing, on Wednesday.

Ascend blamed "costs and structural complexities associated with managing registered funds" and the "difficulty to raise funds in the current financial market" for the decision. 

Meanwhile Bidgee Finance placed its listed securities (on the Newcastle Stock Exchange) in suspension yesterday pending an announcement.