Neil Woodford’s troubled Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) is scrambling to extend a lifeline from its lender after plunging to a £232m loss. Patient Capital is locked in talks with US bank Northern Trust over extending a loan agreement which it has used to borrow £111.1m for investing in stocks, and is considering axing Mr Woodford as manager. The lending deal must be renewed in January, and if the money is withdrawn it could spark further chaos. Sources said board members are meeting with Northern Trust as a priority to ensure the cash remains available. It comes as the trust reels from a crisis engulfing its sister investment scheme, Mr Woodford’s shuttered Equity Income Fund.
A charity bankrolled by Thomas Cook Group (TCG) is set to close unless its trustees can pull off an unlikely rescue plan. The Thomas Cook Children’s Charity has been pushed to the brink by the collapse of the 178-year-old travel company, sources said. Although existing funds are not affected by the firm’s failure, the organisation raised money primarily through Thomas Cook – and insiders say it is hard to see a future without that support. The charity is a separate entity from the Thomas Cook commercial group and is not part of the liquidation process. It raised £1.1m in 2017, according to the most recently filed accounts.
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG), the British microchip company that was bought by a Beijing-backed private equity group two years ago, has said it would choose to float in China or New York rather than relisting its shares in London. The Hertfordshire-based company, best known for designing the iPhone’s graphics units until it was dropped by Apple in 2017, was one of the UK’s most prominent listed tech companies until it was bought by Canyon Bridge Partners for £550m. Imagination is seeking to engineer a turnaround under the new owners, who are funded partly by the Chinese government, with a view to selling or floating the company once it has reversed losses and improved revenues.
Burford Capital (BUR) claimed on Monday that it had been the victim of market manipulation and revealed it had asked the High Court to order the London Stock Exchange to disclose traders’ identities. The firm also published a report it commissioned from Prof Joshua Mitts at Columbia University, who claimed to have found “strong evidence” of manipulation of Burford’s share price both before and on the day that US hedge fund Muddy Waters revealed it had bet against Burford’s share price. Muddy Waters’ devastating attack on Burford’s governance and accounting practices in August wiped more than £1.5bn off the Aim-listed company’s market value.
Five-a-side football firm backed by Mike Ashley has been kicked off the stock exchange after warning it may owe far more money to the taxman than first thought. Goals Soccer Centres (GOAL) missed a Monday deadline for filing its annual financial results, and has now been forced to delist under rules set by London’s junior AIM market. The firm had estimated that it owed HMRC £12m following an investigation into accounting errors which revealed it had miscalculated VAT payments for several years – but has now warned that liabilities could be much higher than this. Shares were suspended in March when the probe was announced.
Bosses at English sparkling wine producer Chapel Down Group plc (CDGP) almost trebled as it ploughed cash into expanding its vineyards and building a new brewery. The company, which is based in Tenterden, Kent, posted losses of £1.7m during the first six months of 2018, compared with £581,861 a year earlier. It came despite soaring sales of its wine, spirits, beer and cider, which jumped 21% to £6.7m during the period. In addition to producing still and sparkling wine, Chapel Down also owns Curious, a range of beer and cider, and makes gin, vodka and brandy. In January, the firm opened its distillery, cocktail bar and restaurant, Gin Works, which already accounts for a tenth of sales.
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