Granuaile Shipping, the former BES company which operates two 7,000 tonne ships, is looking at a number of possible ways of expanding its fleet, Granuaile chairman Mr Emmet O'Connell has stated. "We are looking at a number of proposals," Mr O'Connor said. Granuaile was set up over five and a half years ago under the Business Expansion Scheme.

Late last year, three institutional investors Riada, Hill Samuel and AIB - which controlled 54 per cent of Granuaile's shares sold their stake to a management group led by Mr O'Connell and Norwegian shipowner Mr Adle Jebsen. Mr Jebseon now holds 35 per cent of Granuaile.

This buyout and the plans to increase fleet tonnage coincided with a sharp rise on the Granuaile share price from the 14p when it was launched under the old Rule 4.2 in Dublin last August to a current price of 47p. Granuaile is now quoted on the Ofex market in London a junior market set up for former Rule 4.2 companies who did not wish to move to the Alternative Investment Market.