Provident fights back at bidder Non-Standard with questions over finances. Doorstep lender Provident Financial (PFG) pressed the nuclear button in its hostile bid battle with suitor Non-Standard Finance (NSF) on Tuesday by raising questions over the legality of historic shareholder payouts made by its rival. In a highly unusual move, Provident asked NSF to explain whether a string of dividends and share buybacks made between 2016 and 2018 were legal, raising the question that NSF may have broken company law. Provident’s attack follows a forensic accounting probe by the group, which claims to have uncovered shortfalls in the pot of money NSF set aside to pay investors in 2018. The sudden twist came after NSF, which did not respond to Provident’s statement, said a majority of shareholders had backed the £1.3 billion all-share bid. It did not respond directly to the dividend claims.
Staff cuts loom as tycoon Philip Day bids for Bonmarché. Fashion chain Bonmarche Holdings (BON) could suffer store closures and job cuts after billionaire Philip Day on Tuesday tabled a takeover bid for the struggling business. The deal values the over-fifties retailer, which has 300 stores and concessions in Britain, at around £5.7 million. Day warned he expected a “material reduction” in the firm’s 1900 staff. He will also kick-start a review to see which stores are profitable and it is likely the rest would shut.
Asda ‘overtakes’ Sainsbury’s amid efforts to clinch £13 billion merger. Asda on Tuesday leapfrogged Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) to become Britain’s second-biggest supermarket chain for the first time in four years amid last-ditch efforts to go ahead with a £13 billion merger. Sainsbury’s sales fell 1.8% over the 12 weeks to March 24, with its market share shrinking to 15.3% from 15.8% in the same period last year, industry data from Kantar Worldpanel showed on Tuesday. Asda’s market share edged up 0.1% to 15.4%. A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s, however, said the grocer was still number two because the figures don’t include sales from Argos, which it owns.
Julian Dunkerton seals his return to Superdry. Superdry (SDRY) co-founder Julian Dunkerton on Tuesday emerged victorious from his battle to return to the fashion brand. Dunkerton sealed a wafer-thin victory after a bitter battle to rejoin the board of the retailer as a non-executive director, with 51.15% of shareholders’ votes in favour and 48.85% against. Boohoo’s former chairman Peter Williams was also elected to the board. Tuesday’s move could trigger a boardroom exodus as Superdry’s top brass had threatened to resign if Dunkerton returns.
Rolls-Royce loses altitude after engine trouble strikes again. Turbulence at Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) showed no signs of abating on Tuesday, as the aerospace giant was hit by fresh reports of engine trouble. Singapore Airlines said it has grounded two Boeing 787-10 jets fitted with Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 TEN engines after checks of its fleet found “premature blade deterioration”. The update comes just over a month after Rolls-Royce revealed that the cost of fixing faults with the troubled Trent 1000 aircraft engines increased to £790 million in 2018. Rolls-Royce said: “We will now work closely with any impacted customers to deliver an accelerated programme to implement the enhanced blade and to ensure that we can deliver on our Trent 1000 TEN future commitments. We regret any disruption this causes to airline operations.”
Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) was among the biggest risers. Amid doom and gloom in much of the aviation sector, the Square Mile welcomed some good news from the airline. It said it expects net profits for the year to March 31 to be at the higher end of a range between €270 million (£232 million) and €300 million. The shares rose 127p to 3007p.
Travel website Hostelworld Group (HSW) reported a 5% fall in 2018 sales to €82.1 million. It was hit by last summer’s hot weather, as Brits chose to stay at home. But new boss Gary Morrison outlined growth plans, sending the shares up 9.4p to 192p.
