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Morning Financial Press Review 22/11/19

06:27, 22nd November 2019
Paul Kettle Kettle
AM Press
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Below are the key morning and weekend press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.

Shareholders have thrown their weight behind the founder and chairman of Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) FOLLOW despite a furious row over corporate governance. Ahead of Thursday’s annual shareholder meeting, the influential proxy voting agencies that advise big shareholders how to vote had raised a number of red flags. Tim Martin has been the executive chairman since 1983, in contravention of guidelines that recommend having a non-executive chairman operating above a chief executive. The advisory groups also criticised executive pay and Martin’s use of company money to buy pro-Brexit beermats. In the end Martin received an overwhelming endorsement, with 98% of voting shareholders backing him. However, a fifth of independent shareholders voted against Debra van Gene and Sir Richard Beckett, who have been on the board since 2006 and 2009. Both executives, who have already agreed to step down, still polled 88% due to the support of Martin, who is the company’s biggest shareholder.

The owner of British Gas moved to reassure shareholders that customer defections were slowing at its consumer energy supply arm as it stuck to its annual earnings targets but lifted its efficiency savings drive by £50 million. Shares in Centrica (CNA) FOLLOW jumped more than 9% after it reported that British Gas had lost 107,000 customers since the end of June, far fewer than the 178,000 accounts that had gone over the previous six months. Britain’s biggest energy supplier said that the departures at British Gas had been more than offset by new customers at its Centrica Consumer business, which provides services to householders who receive their energy from other suppliers as well as British Gas.

Gaming revenue in William Hill (WMH) FOLLOW High Street shops fell more than a third due to changes in the law on fixed-odds betting terminals. It said it remained ‘on track’ to meet full-year expectations, after closing 700 of its 2,300 betting shops following the reduction of the maximum stake on the casino-style gambling machines from £100 to £2. The gambling giant said the closures, over the past four months, would affect 4,500 jobs. Gaming revenue in the period fell by 39%, with like-for-like sales in shops falling 16% overall when sports bets are taken into account.

Rowan Gormley, the man who transformed Majestic Wine into a solely online business, has announced his shock retirement only three months after striking a deal to sell all its shops. Majestic Wine (WINE)FOLLOW , as the business is now known, said that Mr Gormley, 57, would be retiring after the Christmas trading season and once the £95 million sale of Majestic’s 180 shops to Softbank’s Fortress investment arm was complete. He will be succeeded by Nick Devlin, 34, chief operating officer, after an 18-month succession planning process to focus on the “next chapter”, the company said. “Now it is time to hand over to a new team,” Mr Gormley said.

American toy-making giant Hasbro faces a two-month probe into its £3.3billion takeover of Peppa Pig owner Entertainment One Limited (ETO) FOLLOW. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has asked for feedback by December 5 on how the deal will affect the UK’s media and toy industries. The CMA aims to make a decision on whether to give it the green light or refer it for a more in-depth investigation by January 21. When Hasbro – which also makes board game Monopoly and Power Rangers action figures – swooped on the British firm in August, it said the deal would expand its entertainment and ‘family-oriented’ portfolio. If the CMA backs it, the deal will give Hasbro ownership of global super-hit children’s cartoon Peppa Pig, which has built a strong following in China and has been translated into 40 languages.

Profits at Johnson Matthey (JMAT) FOLLOW fell in the first half of the year as it struggled with the costs resulting from delays in opening a new factory in Poland. The chemicals company, which helps produce catalytic converters that cut pollution and emissions from engines, said it had enjoyed sales growth in its clean air division as automotive companies responded to stricter environmental targets. This, however, put extra pressure on Johnson Matthey’s manufacturing capacity. The company has 13 factories around the world and is building three new ones in Poland, India and China.

The boss of Countryside Properties (CSP) FOLLOW is standing down after announcing a 5% rise in annual profits to £114.8m and increasing the number of homes built by a third to 5,733. Ian Sutcliffe said he planned to join his wife in retirement, having led the business since 2015 and through its flotation the following year. Its shares have almost doubled since then to 371.8p, valuing the company at close to £1.7bn. Countryside posted a 16% rise in revenue to £5.7bn, although margins fell slightly to 21.7% after buying Westleigh Group. Westleigh focuses on affordable housing, which has lower margins.

Blue Prism Group (PRSM) FOLLOW annual revenues have surged to ‘at least’ £98million, up from £55million last year. The Warrington-based group, which automates repetitive office tasks such as processing orders for customers including the NHS, Ebay and O2, added 685 new clients in the year to October 31. It now has 1,677 customers, up 69% on the year before, it said in an update ahead of full-year results in January.

Ocado Group (OCDO) FOLLOW has been given the green light by the competition watchdog to stop calling itself a grocer after it sold half of its online retail business to Marks & Spencer Group (MKS)FOLLOW . Although the company is best known for selling pate and smoked salmon on its website, Ocado chief executive Tim Steiner has staked the firm’s future on selling its software and robots to other supermarket chains across the world. It will help the business compete with the likes of Amazon, which bought upmarket grocer Whole Foods in 2017. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said that Ocado had asked to be “de-designated” after it struck a £750m deal with Marks & Spencer in February.

Mitie Group (MTO) FOLLOW has warned that some clients were putting new projects on ice because of uncertainties over Brexit and the forthcoming general election. Mitie, which provides building maintenance, cleaning, catering and security services, said revenues would be “broadly” flat this year. Phil Bentley, chief executive, said “day-to-day projects carry on”, but “decisions on new roofs, boilers, etc” had been “pushed back”. “There is no doubt that we continue to operate in a challenging industry of rising labour costs and margin pressures. Political and economic uncertainty may adversely affect our customers’ approach to outsourcing decisions and our ability to plan and invest”, the company said yesterday.

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The information, investment views and recommendations in this article are provided for general information purposes only. Nothing in this article should be construed as a solicitation to buy or sell any financial product relating to any companies under discussion or to engage in or refrain from doing so or engaging in any other transaction. Any opinions or comments are made to the best of the knowledge and belief of the writer but no responsibility is accepted for actions based on such opinions or comments. Vox Markets may receive payment from companies mentioned for enhanced profiling or publication presence. The writer may or may not hold investments in the companies under discussion.

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