Barclays (BARC) executive given £25m bonus after ‘sham’ deal, court told. Roger Jenkins was motivated by money when he pushed deal through, jury hears. A Barclays executive received a £25m bonus after securing Qatari investment in the bank under what amounted to a “sham agreement” at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, a court has heard. A jury at Southwark crown court was told on Tuesday that executives pursued the capital-raising deal in order to safeguard Barclays’ independence and avoid an “extremely unattractive” government bailout that would have restricted the bank’s operations, threatened top jobs and put management pay packages under extra scrutiny. However, Ed Brown QC, prosecuting on behalf of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), said the former head of Barclays Capital, Roger Jenkins, “could not care less” about the bank’s independence and ultimately revealed “a different motivation” for pushing the deal through – namely a hefty bonus. Jenkins, known to his colleagues as “big dog”, had taken home £39.5m the previous year, according to the prosecution.
Mike Ashley sets sights on struggling furniture retailer Sofa.com. founder engaged in bidding battle with stock market-listed SCS Group (SCS). Mike Ashley could be about to make the leap from sportswear to sofa retailing with yet another takeover deal, this time of the online furniture specialist Sofa.com. The Sports Direct founder has been on a buying spree over the past year, snapping up struggling retail chains including House of Fraser and the bike specialist Evans Cycles amid a high street crisis. He is also currently in the running to acquire the collapsed entertainment chain HMV. The tycoon’s latest target is the loss-making Sofa.com, which was put up for sale recently. Ashley is thought to be keen on adding the business, which has concessions in eight House of Fraser stores, to his high street empire. The maverick businessman is pitted against the stock market-listed sofa retailer ScS Group in the final round of bidding. ScS confirmed it was in discussions regarding a potential acquisition of the “business and assets” of Sofa.com, which include nine showrooms and a website.
Patisserie Valerie accounts ‘unreliable back to 2014’. Potential buyers told sales and profit data from December 2014-October 2018 unreliable. Accounts for Patisserie Holdings (CAKE) dating back to at least September 2014 contain unreliable figures on its financial performance, according to information sent to potential bidders for the stricken cafe chain. Interested parties have been asked to put forward first round bids by Friday but so far have only limited information about the recent trading performance at the company, which fell into administration this month. Sources told the Guardian that information sent to bidders by KPMG, which is acting as administrator, indicated only sales and profit data from after October 2018 or before September 2014 could be relied upon.
Royal Mail (RMG) shares plunge to record low as it delivers fewer letters. Privatised service lowers profit forecast, blaming fall in junk mail and business uncertainty. Royal Mail’s share price slumped on Tuesday to its lowest point since privatisation after declining junk mail and business uncertainty meant it delivered fewer letters. Addressed letter volumes, excluding the impact of elections, fell by 8% year on year in the nine months to 23 December, while letter revenues fell by 6%. Companies have been forced to scale back their mass mail marketing campaigns because of tighter EU privacy rules introduced under the General Data Protection Regulation. Meanwhile, businesses continue to shift from letters to email for communications with customers. Rico Back, the Royal Mail chief executive, also blamed business uncertainty for letter declines, at a time when fears of a no-deal Brexit are seen as the main reason for companies holding back spending.
