Countrywide shares tumble as it confirms heavy losses amid housing market slowdown March 7, 2019 Shares in estate agency Countrywide dropped more than eleven per cent today after it confirmed a widening of its full-year losses and warned of a tough year ahead. The figures Full-year revenue fell seven per cent to £627.1m, driven by a pipeline deficit in sales. The firm’s losses widened from £207.3m to £218.2m. Adjusted earnings before [...]
Activist investor Cat Rock turns up the heat after calling on Just Eat to start merger talks February 11, 2019 One of Just Eat’s major shareholders has urged the takeaway giant to start merger discussions with a "well-run industry peer" today, following the recent departure of boss Peter Plumb. Cat Rock Capital Management, which owns a 1.7 per cent stake in Just Eat, said that a tie-up for the online food delivery firm "would be a [...]
Big business needs to step up and take the reins of leadership from the politicians February 6, 2019 I wanna be the leader I wanna be the leader Can I be the leader? Can I? I can? Promise? Promise? Yippee I’m the leader I’m the leader OK what shall we do? Roger McGough did not know how prescient his poem was. The days of Churchill, Thatcher and Mandela are gone. Whether you agreed [...]
Nissan ‘faces SEC probe into executive pay reports’ January 28, 2019 Nissan is reportedly facing a US probe over whether it accurately revealed executive pay, it emerged today. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to begin an investigation into the matter, according to Bloomberg, coming as the company’s former chair stands trial on charges of financial misconduct. Read more: Ghosn 'paid Saudi businessman with company [...]
Government refusal to extend pay gap reporting rules to Big Four branded ‘disappointing’ January 22, 2019 The government has been accused of letting the Big Four audit firms “evade reporting on their pay ratios” by excluding firms with their business model from new legislation. The government’s small business minister refused to say whether new rules on executive pay transparency would be extended to partnerships during a grilling by MPs today. Members [...]
One in two FTSE 250 bosses has taken a pay cut since 2017 January 22, 2019 Chief executive pay has dropped at nearly half the UK’s top firms since 2017 but British bosses are still earning more than their European peers, according to a new report. Pay for FTSE 250 bosses fell as 48 per cent of firms listed in the index cut remuneration levels by 10 per cent on average. [...]
CYBG could face shareholder unrest over executive pay following Virgin Money deal January 20, 2019 Virgin Money’s new owner CYBG could face an investor backlash after a respected shareholder advisory group slammed its executive pay plans which it said are “not supported by compelling rationale”. The report by advisory group ISS said that following the acquisition of Virgin Money for £1.7bn last year, the company plans to nearly double variable [...]
Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley on Brexit, buildings and bonus backlashes January 16, 2019 Tony Pidgley is a staunch defender of his trade, as you would expect Britain’s best-known housebuilder to be. So it comes as something of a surprise when, asked about the huge row that hit his sector last year when fellow housing boss Jeff Fairburn took a £75m bonus, he does not come down on Fairburn’s [...]
Do not succumb to the ‘Fat Cat Friday’ outrage January 3, 2019 As if Greggs’ vegan sausage rolls hadn’t prompted enough misplaced shock and outrage for the start of a new year, you can expect more of the same this morning when campaigners declare it to be “Fat Cat Friday”. The High Pay Centre, which opposes current levels of executive remuneration, calculates that by this afternoon a [...]
BT to shake up executive pay amid shareholder revolt over boss’s bonus December 18, 2018 BT today said it will rethink its executive pay strategy after shareholders fought back at the outgoing chief executive’s £2.3m pay packet. The embattled telecoms group said it was “disappointed” at the results of a vote on its annual remuneration report, which saw 34 per cent of shareholders vote against the proposed pay. Much of [...]