FirstGroup (FGP) faces a major rebellion today after some of the City’s most influential fund managers threw their weight behind an activist investor. Coast Capital, which owns almost 10% of First, wants to unseat six board members, including chairman Wolfhart Hauser and chief executive Matthew Gregory, and install six of its own directors, at a one-off meeting in London. Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Schroders, Farringdon Capital Management and property mogul Robert Tchenguiz will also be voting against 69-year-old Hauser staying on the board. It means investors with nearly 30% of shares in First are expected to oppose Hauser. Coast needs support of more than 50% to unseat the chairman or any other directors and wants to cancel the planned sale of First’s UK bus business and turn it around instead.
De La Rue (DLAR) is suffering a boardroom exodus as another two executives declare intentions to step down. Chairman Philip Rogerson and senior independent director Andy Stevens both said today that they plan to leave this year. It comes less than a month after chief executive Martin Sutherland was ousted as De La Rue issued another profit warning, which sent shares crashing to their lowest level in 15 years. Rogerson said he would stay in place until a new boss has been appointed, and Stevens will leave no later than the end of the year. ‘The chairman has indicated his intention to retire from the board as part of an orderly succession process following the appointment and integration of the new CEO,’ the company said. Sutherland’s departure was announced a year after De La Rue lost out in the race to print Britain’s post-Brexit blue passports to, ironically, a Franco-Dutch firm called Gemalto. The contract was worth £490million.
Cake Box Holdings (CBOX) hiked its final dividend by 50% – the cherry on top of a successful first year as a listed company. The cake shop chain listed on London’s AIM market last summer and has shaken off the wider retail woes to grow sales and profits as it pushed ahead with plans to more than double its store estate. Revenues rose by a third to almost £17million, giving pre-tax profits of £3.8million, up 14%. It is paying out a final divi of 2.4p.
Insurance rates are on the up. Bad news if you are a home owner or motorist, but a welcome relief if you’ve been writing policies in the recent competitive environment. For Admiral Group (ADM) and Hastings Group Holdings (HSTG), in particular, the turn in the sector could provide a big boost, if, as anticipated, the more buoyant conditions continue. That’s because shares in the two have, historically, followed the ebb and flow of premiums. This helps explain why Barclays Capital analysts are gung-ho on Admiral, lifting their recommendation up two notches to ‘overweight’, driving the share price 79p higher to 2191p. They are sticking with an ‘overweight’ call on Hastings, which rose 3.2p, to 182.4p.
Deutsche Bank took a closer look at the phone stocks. BT Group (BT.A) is the least attractive of all the European telcos, it said. It is a ‘seller’ down to 175p, after downgrading from ‘hold’. The London arm of the German bank maintained its ‘buy’ on Vodafone Group (VOD) and reckons the obstacles to a re-rating of the share price are disappearing. Its valuation of Voda is 250p, almost double yesterday’s price of 126.24p.
Tungsten-focused explorer Thor Mining (THR) surged 9.7%, or 0.07p, to 0.85p after tests confirmed good tungsten grades from drilling at a project in Australia.
Regency Mines (RGM) climbed 16.7%, or 0.01p, to 0.07p after an overhaul of its board that saw it appoint a new chief executive, chairman and non-executive director.
Sylvania Platinum Ltd (DI) (SLP) bounced 6.6%, or 1.9p, higher to 30.5p after announcing plans for a share buyback.
Explorer KEFI Minerals (KEFI) had a tougher day after failing to soothe investor concerns around a failed coup attempt in Ethiopia, near its Tulu Kapi project.
jumped 0.5p, to 6.65p ahead of a vote this week on its reverse takeover of Dublin-based rare disease treatment group, Open Orphan.
Acquisition talk drove engineering company 600 Group (SIXH) 1.15p, higher to 19.15p after it purchased US-based laser specialist Control Micro Systems for around £7.9million.
Architecture firm Aukett Swanke Group (AUK) also found itself on firmer footing after its shares were lifted 0.35p, to 1.85p on news that it had received instructions for a project in the UAE.
WANdisco (WAND) found the dance floor empty and its shares down 63.5p, to 452.5p after a Sunday paper said the shares were a ‘sell’.
Nautilus Marine Services (NAUT) had a topsy-turvy day after it sank nearly 15% before recovering to end up 7.4%, or 0.1p, at 1.45p after shareholders backed exiting the junior market.
