The founder of Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) has accused the firm of failing in its duty to shareholders amid a row about political donations. Peter Hargreaves fell out with the investment platform last week over a planned shareholder vote on making donations to political parties. The 73-year-old billionaire made it clear he would use his 32% stake to oppose the motion, so Hargreaves Lansdown cancelled the ballot at the last minute before its annual meeting.
Neptune Energy a start-up backed by private equity and chaired by former Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw has snapped up a parcel of North Sea assets from oil and gas explorer Energean Oil and Gas (ENOG). Neptune Energy will pay $250m (£215m) for a clutch of stakes in producing wells and development projects that it described as an “important bolt-on acquisition” and an “excellent fit” with its other assets. The purchase will add an estimated 30m barrels of oil equivalent to Neptune’s portfolio in the North Sea. It includes a quarter stake in the Glengorm gas discovery in the UK’s Central North Sea, and a 15% interest in the Nova gas development in the Norwegian part of the basin.
Mike Ashley’s has hit out at the dominance of Adidas and Nike, calling for a Europe-wide investigation into the sportswear industry. The tracksuit tycoon’s FTSE 250 firm said the sector has “long been dominated by ‘must-have’ brands” and that they hold “an extremely strong bargaining position”. It added that this allows them to control both supply and product prices, including restricting ranges available to retailers, and withdrawing or refusing to supply products altogether.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) was forced to develop its own digital bank after the failure of an audacious attempt to buy online lender Monzo, the Daily Telegraph can reveal. Senior executives from the taxpayer-controlled lender approached Monzo for talks before baulking at the price tag. Natwest owner RBS then decided it would be cheaper to set up a rival and designed mobile-focused Bó, which is gearing up to launch next month. It is the first time a large high-street bank is known to have made a move for a challenger firm, and highlights how seriously RBS and other major rivals take the threat posed by Monzo and fellow start-ups such as Revolut.
Superdry (SDRY) founder Julian Dunkerton will stay on until 2021 to help steer the retailer’s turnaround. Mr Dunkerton narrowly emerged victorious in April from a bitter battle with the retailer’s previous management. He launched a campaign to be reinstated at the helm having left the business in March 2018 after disagreeing about the design of the clothes and how its wares were sold online and in stores. Some industry observers have argued that Superdry’s travails are down to the brand losing its relevance in a fiercely competitive market. The shares have tumbled by three-quarters over the past two years.
Questor: S&U (SUS) offers a low valuation, good yield and sound risk management. One to hold. Questor share tip: the firm continues to be choosy about who it lends to: one of its two divisions has suffered just a single default on a loan
