AA looks to get back on track with encouraging full-year results April 15, 2018 Breakdown cover firm AA is expecting to get back on the road with some positive results when it releases its annual report on Tuesday. For the year-end, estimates from Liberum reckoned that AA’s trading EBITDA will be around £392m, as sales will go up slightly to £964m from £933m in 2017. Earnings in 2019 have [...]
Melrose has won the battle for engineering giant GKN as shareholders vote in favour of takeover March 29, 2018 The long-running takeover battle for GKN has finally drawn to a close, with Melrose Industries snatching the engineering giant from the grip of its board. The “most bitter takeover battle in recent memory”, according to Interactive Investor’s Lee Wild, will now end with London-listed Melrose merging GKN’s aerospace and driveline divisions into its existing structure [...]
Financial Conduct Authority scrutinising Aviva’s aborted plans to cancel £450m worth of preference shares March 28, 2018 The City watchdog is scrutinising Aviva’s proposals to cancel £450m of preference shares, its chief executive has confirmed in a letter to the Treasury Select Committee. In a letter published this morning, Andrew Bailey said the Financial Conduct Authority was carrying out a review to establish “whether there are circumstances that might require an investigation [...]
Aviva boss Mark Wilson paid £4.3m last year after bonus bump March 27, 2018 The chief executive of insurer Aviva was paid £4.3m last year, with nearly £2m of that coming as a bonus after a strong year. Chief executive Mark Wilson received £1.028m as a basic salary, a £1.945m bonus, £966,000 in long-term share incentives and £288,000 in pension payments. His total remuneration actually dipped from last year [...]
Aviva made clear that it wanted to reduce hybrid debt by £900m and planned to cancel its preference shares. March 27, 2018 At its annual results presentation on March 8, Aviva made clear that it wanted to reduce hybrid debt by £900m and as such pointed out that it has the ability to cancel its irredeemable preference shares at par value – something which came as a surprise to retail and institutional investors. The company argued that [...]
Last week in the City March 23, 2018 This week, China warned the US that it is not afraid of engaging in a trade war, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again, and Facebook shares plummeted after allegations that millions of users' profile data had been harvested. The FTSE 100 was down 3.5% over the course of the week by mid-session on Friday. [...]
Aviva shareholder criticism prompts £450m preference share climbdown March 23, 2018 Insurance giant Aviva has today been forced into a U-turn over controversial plans to cancel £450m of high-interest shares. After receiving “strong feedback and criticism” from investors, Aviva has reneged on proposals to bin its irredeemable preference shares. Some of the shares date back to 1992 and pay an 8.5 per cent coupon. Boss Mark [...]
Healthy habits of Isa millionaires March 21, 2018 For many of us, becoming a millionaire might seem like a farfetched dream. But it might not be as difficult as you first thought, provided you adopt the right behaviours. While the government has regularly ramped up the annual tax-free threshold over the years, in 2017 the allowance saw a massive jump up to [...]
Full stream ahead: With Spotify opting for an unusual IPO route, should investors be wary? March 20, 2018 Spotify, the streaming giant that prides itself on helping people discover music, is about to go public. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange on 2 April, but it’s doing things differently – opting for a direct listing instead. This means that, instead of issuing shares, the private investors and [...]
Engineering a big short: Hedgies build £1bn bet against Melrose March 19, 2018 Hedge funds have scrambled to build a £1bn bet against GKN suitor Melrose as Britain’s biggest hostile takeover for almost a decade approaches a critical shareholder vote. Almost a quarter of Melrose’s shares are on loan to short sellers hoping its pursuit of GKN will fail – figures that have risen sharply in the last [...]