Lloyds shelves plans to ditch stake in St James’s Place
UK wealth manager St James’s Place said its majority shareholder Lloyds Banking Group has shelved plans to dispose of its majority stake ending months of uncertainty that had depressed the shares.
“The directors recognise that there has been growing uncertainty over the intentions of our majority shareholder… Lloyds has indicated that it has no intention to sell down or dispose of its stake in St. James’s Place at this time,” the company said in a statement.
The announcement came with first half earnings that showed growth at St James’s Place had outpaced that of rival Rathbone Brothers.
St James’s beat analyst expectations with a 60 per cent jump in operating earnings to reach £162.1m in the first six months, while Rathbones was at the top end of market estimates with a 17 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £18.1m.