Two City heavyweights are among firms being courted by the former boss of Eddie Stobart Logistics (ESL) as he races to put together a rescue plan for the ailing trucking firm. Fund managers M&G and Ruffer have held discussions with Andrew Tinkler, who hopes they will sign up to a deal to inject £50m into the business. Mr Tinkler is hoping to overcome a rival bid from Dbay Advisors, one of the biggest investors in Eddie Stobart. The crippled firm, which was spun off from former parent the Stobart Group in 2014 and listed three years later, shocked investors last week when it revealed delayed half-year losses before interest and tax of at least £12m.
Major high street chains have been forced to close almost 6,000 stores so far this year amid a raging crisis on the high street. A total of 5,834 shops were shut by large retailers with 10 or more stores since the start of the year to September 30, according to the Centre for Retail Research. This is a 77% rise on the whole of last year, when 3,303 sites were closed by larger retailers. It suggests job loses this year will top the estimated 70,000 in 2018. The figures underline the challenge facing the high street ahead of the crucial Christmas period as customers shun traditional stores to buy online instead.
FirstGroup (FGP) has been plunged into a fresh crisis after suffering a double attack from major investors. Multi-millionaire property tycoon Robert Tchenguiz slammed First’s strategy and said there should be a shareholder vote on its future. In a separate broadside, activist Coast Capital Management, First’s second biggest investor, demanded the firm immediately begin a formal sale of US assets. Mr Tchenguiz hit out at First’s executives for making “ambiguous, confusing and misleading” statements about a potential sale of its US arm and claimed that chairman David Martin is “scaring off shareholders” by not splitting the business in two.
Lending practices at H&T Group (HAT), the largest pawnbroker in Britain are being probed by regulators – sending shares slumping by more than a fifth. H&T is being investigated over how it judges whether customers who take out an unsecured loan can afford to pay the money back. The review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) covers H&T lending practices over the last six years, during which customers paid £24m of interest. H&T has now stopped offering unsecured loans while the review continues, and is putting new policies in place. The firm said it is working with the FCA, and is committed to maintaining high standards without harming customers.
