Close Brothers Group said today that its subsidiary Winterflood Securities has referred to the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal a decision made by the Financial Services Authority to impose a financial penalty of £4m (€5.1m) on Winterflood in respect of dealings which occurred on the AIM market in 2004.

The allegation against Winterflood stems from trading by third parties in 2004 in shares of Fundamental E Investments, an AIM listed stock.