Morning Financial Press Review 12/12/19
Below are the key morning press headlines, featuring the The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Shares in newly floated Saudi Aramco surged by 10 per cent yesterday as the world’s biggest initial public offering was hailed as a success by the government in Riyadh. The state-controlled oil giant closed at 35.2 riyals ($9.39) on the first day of dealings on the Riyadh stock exchange after rising by the maximum permitted under local rules. It gave Saudi Aramco a market value of almost $1.9 trillion, confirming it as the world’s most valuable listed company, well ahead of $1.2 trillion Apple. It is larger than the five biggest multinational oil companies combined. Saudi Aramco priced its IPO last week when it raised a record $25.6 billion, more than the $25 billion raised by Alibaba, the Chinese technology group, in 2014.
The brother-and-sister team that set up is vacating the driving seat after the transport group showed declining revenues in the last six months. Sir Brian Souter, 65, will step down as chairman but stay on the board, while Dame Ann Gloag will retire from the board. The siblings grew the business into what is now claimed to be Britain’s biggest bus, coach and tram operator, employing 24,000 people, and with more than 8,300 vehicles. Souter said: ‘The time is right for me to step down to spend time on my other interests and with my family.’
Embattled investor Mark Barnett has been fired from running the £1.3bn due to poor performance. Investment trusts, unlike open-ended funds, have independent boards that can hand assets to another company if it sees fit. Mark Barnett, who works for American fund house Invesco, has run the trust since 2014 after taking over from his mentor and colleague Neil Woodford. He ran the investments in the same style as his predecessor, aiming to provide a growing income by investing in undervalued British companies known as “value stocks, with a preference for smaller businesses.
Ousted boss Euan Sutherland is to take charge of over-50s travel and insurance firm as it battles to recover from a share price slump. He will take over on Jan 6 following the retirement of chief executive Lance Batchelor, who will stay on as a director until the end of next month. Mr Sutherland left ailing fashion retailer Superdry in April in a boardroom coup when investors handed control back to the company’s founder Julian Dunkerton. He was previously head of the Co-Operative Group, where some colleagues branded him “Pol Pot” because they felt he had tried to revolutionise the business too quickly.
was the biggest loser on the FTSE 100 after the retailer’s top shareholder cut its stake in the company. Pentland, which is still a majority owner with a 55% stake, said it is committed to remain a ‘long-term majority investor’ despite the sale. ‘Pentland is committed to remaining a long-term majority shareholder in JD at the same time as growing our portfolio of sports, outdoor and fashion brands through organic investment and acquisitions,’ said chairman Stephen Rubin. ‘Today’s share sale enables us to further this strategy by realising a small portion of our shareholding in JD to fund future investment activity, as well as increasing the free float to meet the increasing interest expressed in JD by other shareholders.’
Software provider fell after it said several contracts it expected to ink in the fourth quarter have been pushed back to 2020. The company, whose existing clients include Siemens and Pepsico, still has the same pipeline of work despite the ‘shift in timing’. It is the selected bidder for some of this work already – and could pin down another £7.5million worth by the end of this year.
Strong cashflows from being the self-styled fourth emergency service will mean that begins to address its debt mountain, a legacy from its flotation by the private equity funds CVC and Permira five and a half years ago. The news that trading has been good and that it is dealing with a £2.6 billion borrowing millstone took shares in AA off their recent lows. The company has a turnover of just under £1 billion a year turnover and profits of little more than £100 million.
is to kickstart store openings after the completion yesterday of the acquisition of the chain by Fortress Investment Group, of America, from Naked Wines for £95 million. John Colley, who has returned as executive chairman two years after leaving the group, said that he had earmarked a small number of locations, including St Andrews, Marlow and Henley. He said that the group, which has 197 stores across the UK plus two in France compared to a peak of 213, would also seek new sites in prime locations where it was forced to give up the property. He cited its Blackheath store, which opened recently as a replacement for its Greenwich outlet.
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