Some of the City’s biggest investors have thrown their weight behind an ambitious British firm building a high-tech jet engine to fly passengers from London to New York in just one hour at 3,800 mph. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that American activist investor Elliott Advisors and hedge fund tycoon Crispin Odey are among the heavyweights to have ploughed more than £100million into Oxfordshire-based Reaction Engines in a bet that the company will become a pioneer of air and space travel. They join giants of the aerospace industry and under-fire fund manager Neil Woodford on the shareholder register of those taking a long-term punt on the company.
The Hong Kong stock exchange is under pressure to find another £4billion to convince London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) investors to back its takeover bid, it has emerged. Leading shareholders have told The Mail on Sunday that the Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing (HKEX) must sweeten its cash and shares offer, which has already been hobbled by a slump in its share price. HKEX indicated last month it may offer £83 per share – valuing the business at £29.6billion – but the approach was rebuffed by the LSE board. HKEX has until Wednesday to table a formal offer or walk away.
The Government could have earned hundreds of millions of pounds if it had backed the recent $3.8billion (£3billion) finance package for Sirius Minerals (SXX). Sirius asked the Government to guarantee up to $1billion of bonds as part of the complex deal. If the Treasury had agreed, Sirius would have paid the Government annual interest estimated at $50million to $100million over the life of the bond – amounting to at least $400million in total. Sirius was forced to abandon the package last month after investors shied away from a $500million bond issue. They are understood to have said they would have participated if boss Chris Fraser had gained Government support.
Nurses, teachers and rail workers struggling to find affordable homes could benefit under an innovative scheme from property group Inland Homes (INL). Its prefabricated two-bedroom units are built at a factory in North Yorkshire then transported on a lorry. Known as Hugg Homes, each one costs £55,000 to build – and is guaranteed for at least 60 years. Annual rents are £8,000 in Southampton but would be around £16,000 in parts of London, providing a tidy income for investors. The well-equipped homes are already generating annual rental income of £500,000 a year for Inland. Its chief executive Stephen Wicks is in talks with the NHS, schools and Network Rail about using surplus land to erect more.
Entertainment One Limited (ETO) has hired an influential shareholder lobbying firm in its £3.3billion takeover by American toy giant Hasbro. The film and TV distribution company has enlisted the services of Georgeson, known for its work in takeovers or battles with activist investors. Hasbro’s bid is expected to win support from Entertainment One’s shareholders. The deal needs the backing of investors holding at least two-thirds of the Canada-based, UK-listed firm’s shares.
Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) is reversing its attempt to break into the taxi market despite investing millions in an app aimed at boosting drivers’ fares while trying to tackle climate change. The company launched its FarePilot app last year and has jointly invested $8.8million (£7.1million) with the venture arm of Boston Consulting Group. Shell has decided to scale back the project after FarePilot failed to generate enough revenue to make it commercially viable. Boston Consulting, which owned a minority stake, is no longer involved with FarePilot and 19 employees have been made redundant.
MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Ten pin bowling group is in line for returns that could really bowl you over! Midas verdict: Downturns come and go and markets rise and fall but ten-pin bowling seems relatively resilient to economic and political cycles. Ten Entertainment Group (TEG) has delivered consistent underlying growth over the years, the company is well managed and there is a clear strategy for continued expansion. The dividend yield adds to the stock’s appeal. At £2.41, the shares are a buy.
