A gold mining veteran will take over at Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) boss as the struggling miner seeks to dig its way out of a hole. South African-born Richard Duffy, former chief financial officer of AngloGold Ashanti, will become chief executive on April 1. He previously held roles at Anglo American and is running a renewable energy company in southern Africa that he also co-founded. Mr Duffy replaces Johan Dippenaar, who announced his departure last year after Petra was forced to raise £125m from investors to tackle its teetering debt pile. Tyler Broda, an analyst at RBC, said Mr Duffy “appears to be a very solid hire with 27 years’ experience in mining across a wide range of roles”.
Stock shortages following the collapse of wholesaler Palmer & Harvey hit profits at convenience store chain McColl’s Retail Group (MCLS) last year. Pre-tax profits fell by more than half to to £7.9m for the year to Nov 25, while like-for-like sales, which exclude store openings and closures, were down 1.4%. Total revenue rose 8.1% to £1.24bn driven by the acquisition of 300 Co-op stores in 2017. The stores account for about 30% of sales. Jonathan Miller, chief executive, said 2018 was “undoubtedly a challenging year” after Palmer & Harvey, which supplied 700 of its stores, fell into administration.
Hedge funds bet against Intu Properties (INTU) ahead of results. Hedge funds have ramped up their bets against under-pressure shopping centre owner Intu as it prepares to unveil a dramatic slump in the value of its properties on Wednesday. Analysts forecast the company’s net asset value – a key industry measure – will have tanked by around a fifth after landlords across the sector were battered by a wave of retailers going bust and shutting stores last year. Around 5.2% of its shares are now on loan to short sellers including Crispin Odey and Marshall Wace, the highest level on record and up from 1.9pc as recently as November.
Galliford Try’s Truscott urges long-term plan for new homes. The boss of one of Britain’s largest construction companies has called on the Government to offer more “joined-up thinking” and “less initiatives and soundbites” if it wants to solve the housing crisis. Peter Truscott, chief executive of Galliford Try (GFRD), bemoaned the country’s “very complex, very cumbersome and very slow” planning system, adding: “There is a little bit of initiative overload and what it really needs is a long-term plan to help delivery.” Building rates have rocketed over the past five years from historic lows, but the industry has faced criticism for racking up booming profits while still falling well short of the Government’s target of 300,000 new homes per year.
Former Barclays chairman Marcus Agius to appear in court over landmark fraud trial. Former Barclays (BARC) chairman Marcus Agius is expected to take the stand this week as a prosecution witness at the criminal trial of four former executives over the bank’s 2008 Qatari fundraising. The case, over the bank’s £11.8bn bail-out during the financial crisis, has been brought by the Serious Fraud Office. Mr Agius, 72, stepped down as chairman in 2012 after Barclays’ record £290m fine over its role in the Libor-rigging scandal. He is now deputy chairman of PA Consulting. Qatar largely bankrolled the emergency fundraising which helped the British lender avoid a UK bail-out following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.
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