Burford Capital (BUR) is replacing its chairman and finance chief in an effort to appease shareholders after a US hedge fund made allegations of poor governance and murky accounting practices. Burford has faced criticism over the fact that its chief financial officer, Elizabeth O’Connell, is married to the chief executive, Christopher Bogart. Muddy Waters, a San Francisco-based hedge fund, said the pair’s relationship posed a conflict of interest and should alarm investors. Burford said on Thursday: “Concern has been raised about the fact that Burford’s CEO and chief financial officer are married. We believe that concern is unjustified given Burford’s control structure and ignores Burford’s finance and accounting structure. Nevertheless it is clear that investors would prefer an alternative CFO.” O’Connell, appointed in 2017, has been replaced by Jim Kilman, a former Morgan Stanley investment banker. O’Connell will now serve in the lower-tier role of chief strategy officer. But Burford’s efforts failed to pacify Carson Block, the founder of Muddy Waters, who said the new finance chief was still too cosy with Burford’s leadership given the firm had been his client at Morgan Stanley.
Shares in Aston Martin Holdings (AML) tumbled to a new low as pressure continued to mount on the British luxury carmaker amid a broader market rout. The carmaker last month downgraded its sales forecasts for 2019 from about 7,250 vehicles to 6,400, citing macroeconomic uncertainty in the UK and Europe, which face slowing growth and the threat of a no-deal Brexit at the end of October. Aston Martin’s weaker sales in the first half of the year – at a time when it needs to fund a new factory to build a make-or-break SUV, the DBX – have led many investors to question whether it will need to raise more money, potentially diluting the value of shares. The worsening outlook has added to financial pressures. Moody’s ratings agency downgraded its rating on Aston Martin’s debt in July, making it more expensive for the carmaker to borrow money. Hedge funds have also taken out a record level of short bets that its debt will fall in value
