M&G Investments rejects hostile takeover of Provident Financial May 28, 2019 M&G Investments has announced that it will reject a hostile takeover of Provident Financial by rival sub-prime lender Non-Standard Finance. The investment firm, which owns 1.7 per cent of Provident’s stock, has joined Schroders and Coltrane in confirming it will refuse to back the deal. Read more: Non-Standard Finance confident of watchdog support for £1.3bn [...]
Analysts downgrade Neil Woodford flagship fund due to ‘underperformance’ May 20, 2019 Analysts at Morningstar have downgraded veteran investor Neil Woodford’s flagship fund due to underperformance. Woodford Equity Income fund’s rating was lowered from bronze to neutral, which is the research group’s second lowest ranking, following “persistent” redemption requests as investors exit. Read more: Fund manager Neil Woodford doubles stake in Card Factory The fund, which was [...]
Schroders stands firm against Non-Standard Finance’s hostile takeover of Provident May 19, 2019 A major Provident shareholder has stood firm against a £1.3bn hostile takeover bid delivering a blow to rival subprime lender Non-Standard Finance’s hopes of gaining more support. NSF decided to plough ahead with its takeover last week with support from investors holding 53.53 per cent of Provident shares. The doorstep lender dropped its own target [...]
Non-Standard Finance pushes forward with £1.3bn hostile takeover of Provident May 15, 2019 Sub prime lender Non-Standard Finance has dropped the number of acceptances needed to push forward with its £1.3bn hostile takeover of rival firm Provident Financial. NSF said in a statement that its offer was now unconditional in terms of acceptances by investors, with 5 June the last date on which the takeover may be declared [...]
Fund manager Neil Woodford doubles stake in Card Factory despite high street woes May 13, 2019 Former star trader Neil Woodford has doubled his stake in Card Factory despite high street footfall woes hitting the retailer’s sales last year. Woodford Investment Management has increased its stake in the greeting cards retailer to 10.06 per cent, in a significant bet on the company boosting its performance. Read more: Neil Woodford's billion-dollar baby [...]
Provident Financial says hostile bidder Non-Standard Finance is overvalued May 8, 2019 Provident Financial today said it had concerns about the valuation of Non-Standard Finance (NSF) which is trying to take it over. Provident said it had concerns NSF was undercapitalised, it said NSF’s business was facing “significant headwinds”, it said there was an overly positive perspective on NSF’s headline financial performance and said NSF was overvalued [...]
Neil Woodford’s billion-dollar baby turns four May 1, 2019 | City Talk By Dzmitry Lipski from interactive investor. Late last month, Woodford Patient Capital turned four. Having weighed in at launch at £800 million, making it the second-largest UK investment trust launch ever after Smithson Investment Trust, according to the AIC, Woodford's middle child has had some high-profile teething issues along the way. Total assets today stand at [...]
Kier shares fall as outsourcer swings to £35.5m loss March 20, 2019 Kier has fallen to a £35.5m loss for the second half of 2018, but said it is in a stronger position after hitting up investors for £250m in a disastrous rights issue that missed its target at the end of last year. Read more: Embattled outsourcer Kier's net debt spirals again after 'accounting error' The figures [...]
Former Carillion man takes the reins at embattled Kier Group March 19, 2019 The man who was once named the new leader of Carillion has taken the reins at Kier Group, the construction firm confirmed this morning. Andrew Davies, appointed Carillion’s new chief executive just months before it went out of business, will take up his new role form 15 April, Kier said. Read more: Embattled outsourcer Kier's net debt [...]
Kier to appoint former Carillion hire Andrew Davies as chief executive March 18, 2019 Embattled construction firm Kier is set to appoint the executive who was hired by Carillion weeks before the contractors collapse to lead a turnaround at the company. Andrew Davies, who was due to step into the role of chief executive at Carillion before it plunged into liquidation last year, is expected to be appointed as [...]