The stricken investment trust formerly run by Neil Woodford faces a backlash after appointing blue-blooded fund firm Schroders (SDR) as its new manager on fees of £3.5m a year. Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) will be renamed as Schroder UK Public Private Trust, with investors facing a new annual management fee equal to 1pc of their holding from next year onwards. Based on the current £349m market value of the trust, it means Schroders will earn about £3.5m, or almost £10,000 a day. Schroders will also get 15% of any value created if the price of assets in which the trust is invested rises above 77p per share. This net asset value per share was 63.2p on Tuesday, the latest available figure.
Britain is an increasingly attractive place to do business, with few regulatory delays and relatively little red tape, according to the World Bank. The UK climbed to eighth place in the annual rankings, up from ninth a year ago and overtaking Norway to reinforce its credentials as an attractive location for businesses and entrepreneurs. Top of the annual rankings are New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong. Denmark, South Korea, the US and Georgia are also ahead of Britain in the assessment of 190 countries. The report tracks regulations, administration and barriers to establishing and running businesses, urging Governments to cut red tape to boost enterprise, employment and living standards.
Taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) was hit by almost 9,000 PPI mis-selling complaints a day amid a last-ditch scramble for compensation, pushing the lender into a loss as it warned there could be more pain still to come. RBS slumped £8m into the red for the third quarter of 2019, down from a £961m profit in the same period last year. It piles pressure on new chief executive Alison Rose, who will take over next month. The loss was largely caused by a late rush for payment protection insurance compensation ahead of a deadline for claims in August, and a tough three months at its investment bank.
Barclays (BARC) has reversed its decision to stop customers withdrawing cash from Post Offices after a political storm that saw one of Britain’s biggest banks rounded on by politicians, the banking industry and media. Earlier this month Barclays said it would stop offering Post Office banking users access to physical cash from January 2020, and would instead invest in cashback and ATMs. More than 100 MPs wrote to the bank urging it to reverse the decision. Today the bank announced a u-turn and promised to keep the cash withdrawal service for at least three years.
Next (NXT) shoppers will be able to buy a mobile phone or renew their O2 contracts while shopping for clothes and homeware. The high street bellwether, which has around 500 stores, has opened two O2 stores on Friday in Next shops in Warrington and Southampton, with two more to follow next month in Swindon and Nottingham. The tie-up with the network provider comes as a string of retailers strive to find the best use for their space and attract more shoppers to their sites. Next already has similar tie-ups with coffee chains Costa and Cafe Nero, stationery firm Paperchase, travel agents Virgin Holidays and Tui, furniture maker Hammonds, make up seller Inglot and pasta bar Gino D’Acampo.
