Trap falls after Peter Gyllenhammar lifts stake

Shares in Trap Oil fell on Tuesday after activist Swedish investor Petr Gyllenhammar continued to increase his stake in the AIM-listed oil and gas explorer.

Operating through his Union Discount Company of London and Bronsstädet vehicles, serial AIM investor Gyllenhammar increased his holding to 22.5%, having in late February taken it up from nearer 18 to 21.75%.

The entrepreneurial Swede does not have a seat on the board, yet, but if history is any guide will be looking to secure one.

In January the company notified the market that at the end of 2014 it had net unrestricted cash reserves of roughly £7m, having paid workover costs on its 15%-owned Athena property, as well as the majority of the expected abandonment provision on the North Sea field, as well as well as pre-paying expected drilling costs for the nearby Niobe prospect.

Trap plans to pay the final Athena instalment of roughly £1.3m during 2015, it said.