Ailing Provident Financial hits out at hostile £1.3 billion bid. Beleaguered doorstep lender Provident Financial (PFG) on Monday blasted a £1.3 billion hostile takeover bid as “irresponsible” and said it could hurt customers. The crisis-hit company formally rejected a 511p bid from smaller rival Non-Standard Finance (NSF), which has support from over 50% of Provident’s shareholders. Chief executive Malcolm Le May said NSF’s plan to break up Provident would lead to a worse service for customers and he claimed NSF’s team were not up to scratch to lead the business. He said: “Their plan is poor for long-term shareholder value and for our customers. I’m not sure their plan is capable of long-term implementation. I have a better perspective on what life is looking like on the inside than the outside.”
Hammerson boss ‘still in charge’ despite Elliott push. Hammerson (HMSO) boss David Atkins insisted he was “driving the car” on Monday as the shopping centres owner announced major sell-offs to shore up its finances, and a bolstered board under pressure from activist Elliott Advisors. The firm is looking to raise more than £500 million from sales this year and is in talks over potential deals on £900 million of assets. The part-owner of London’s Brent Cross and Croydon’s Centrale is setting up a new “investment and disposals committee” to handle sales, as well as signing up two more non-executive directors.
Legal & General Group (LGEN) investment arm poaches funds veteran Michelle Scrimgeour from rival. Legal & General Investment Management, the UK’s largest asset manager, poached a veteran operations executive on Monday to become chief executive of the £980 billion division. Michelle Scrimgeour, who has spent 30 years in the industry, will join from rival funds firm Columbia Threadneedle, where she is chief executive for Europe, the middle east and Africa. She replaces Mark Zinkula, who steps down in August after eight years leading LGIM. Scrimgeour, who was born in London and educated in Sheffield, will also join the L&G board. Chief executive Nigel Wilson said: “Her practical, collegiate and customer-focused approach will further bolster LGIM’s unique culture, leveraging its strong synergies with the broader L&G Group, and building on the outstanding job ‘Zink’ has done since 2011.”
Emerging markets are back in fashion after a turbulent 2018 and a savvy investor should be looking to pick up a piece of the action. Choosing emerging market winners requires great skill and time, and so is best left to a professional. This is where Mark Mobius and his latest fund – the – come in. And there are not many better managers than Mobius, who spent 30 years at US giant Franklin Templeton, earning a reputation as one of the best in his generation on Wall Street – alongside Warren Buffett, George Soros and Bill Gross. At Franklin he delivered returns at an average of more than 12% per annum. Analysts at Numis have the stock as one of its top picks this year. They say that “funds launched at a difficult time in the cycle often tend to be the best performers over the long term”. Yet after 30 years in the game Mobius admits that emerging market investing is a dangerous asset class, as those who invested in Venezuela recently found out. If anyone is likely to smell danger it is Mobius, a self-confessed workaholic. He has said he has no private life, but should be highly motivated as he has invested £15 million of his own money in this latest venture. With a man like that working around the clock, this really should be in everyone’s small cap portfolio.
Primark welcomes summer weather in winter as it targets a rise in its profits. Primark can cope with the sudden emergence of summer weather in winter, the fashion retailer said on Monday. The chain’s finance boss, John Bason, said he preferred the recent warm weather to the Beast from the East, which hit High Street retailers’ sales this time last year. He added that shorts and T-shirts have been selling well. Sudden changes in weather can often cause retailers supply chain headaches. “Last year we had the famous Beast from the East — I know which one I prefer,” said Bason. Primark’s parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF), expects a 2% fall in same-store sales at Primark in the 24 weeks to March 2, dragged down by poorer sales on the Continent.
