VCT fundraising push continues as Baronsmead launches £50m raise January 13, 2025 Two Baronsmead venture capital trusts (VCTs) have launched a £50m funding drive today as a boom in fundraising for the vehicles continues. The VCTs, which are managed by Gresham House, are targeting a £30m share offer with an over-allotment option of £20m, meaning they are able to issue new shares if there is demand from [...]
St James’s Place picks Schroders for former Impax mandate January 13, 2025 St James’s Place has awarded the mandate for its £5.2bn sustainability-focused fund to Schroders, after tearing it away from Impax at the end of last year. The loss of the sole mandate of the St James’s Place Sustainable and Responsible Equity fund, which Impax had managed since 2018, caused turmoil at the firm, with its [...]
FTSE 250 closes down four per cent in worst week since 2023 January 10, 2025 The FTSE 250 fell almost four per cent this week, experiencing its worst week since August 2023 as fears mount over the stability of the UK economy. With pound sterling sinking and UK gilt yields rising to decade-long highs, investors have begun to panic that the UK economy and government are coming under pressure. “The [...]
AIM: IPOs on London’s junior market stayed at rock bottom January 10, 2025 The number of IPOs on AIM has continued at its record low numbers in 2024, sailing below the level of the financial crisis. IPOs on London’s junior stock market totalled just 11 last year, the same number as in 2023 and below the 13 recorded during the 2008 financial crisis. While the amount of money [...]
Cum-ex: FCA fines broker over trading violations January 10, 2025 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined broker Arian Financial £288,962 over cum-ex trading violations, after it failed to ensure it had effective systems and controls against financial crime. Cum-ex trading, also known as dividend stripping, is a method of tax avoidance that allows firms to distribute profit as capital gains rather than dividends, allowing [...]
Another private takeover: Alliance Pharma offered £350m January 10, 2025 The London Stock Exchange is facing yet another private takeover, with Alliance Pharma offered £349.7m in an all-cash deal. The AIM-listed firm, which sells over-the-counter drugs in over 100 countries, has seen its board recommend the takeover unanimously by asset manager DBAY Advisors and Edmond de Rothschild’s ERES IV fund. The group’s stock price jumped [...]
Pound endures week of misery amid gilt sell-off January 10, 2025 The pound came in as the worst-performing G10 currency for a second day running yesterday, as the gilt market continues to trade at decade-long highs. After spiking as high as $1.255 on Tuesday, the pound has since fallen to $1.229, its lowest point since October 2023. “What makes the current situation particularly noteworthy is that [...]
St James’s Place: Impax slumps following mandate losses January 9, 2025 Impax’s stock price has sunk even further after revealing the damage that the loss of fund management mandates from St James’s Place has done to its business. Assets under management at the environmental-focused money manager fell eight per cent over the quarter, the firm revealed in a trading update on Thursday. After falling by more [...]
De La Rue: Bank of England supplier’s stock surges on takeover offer January 9, 2025 Bank of England supplier De La Rue has received a £246m takeover offer, according to reports, sending its stock price surging more than 12 per cent. The banknote printer has been offered 125p a share in a conditional offer, roughly 25 per cent higher than its stock price before the news, by companies founded by [...]
Pound sterling continues to sink as UK economy ‘clearly on very shaky ground’ January 9, 2025 Pound sterling has continued to sell off this morning, and UK government bond yields have ticked higher as UK risk assets remain under pressure. The pound fell below $1.23 against the dollar in early trade and is currently down 0.7 per cent against the dollar and 0.6 per cent against the euro. Meanwhile, the domestically [...]
