Philip Day is poised to seize back control of troubled fashion chain Bonmarche Holdings (BON), months after his stake was wiped out when the firm crashed into administration. Mr Day’s business Peacocks is on the brink of taking over Bonmarche following its collapse last month amid a crisis sweeping the high street. The rescue – which will leave suppliers facing huge losses – could lead to drastic cuts in the firm’s debts and its rent bill. It will put the 54-year-old Dubai-based billionaire back in charge following a chaotic eight months in which he rammed through a £5.7m takeover of the company and became its largest lender, only to lose ownership when the business went bust.
Pressure is mounting on the blue-chip companies still giving huge pension top-ups to their bosses as a top offender CRH (CRH) refuses to budge. The building materials giant last year paid chief executive Albert Manifold a pension contribution worth 46% of his salary or €684,000 (£585,000), among the highest pay-outs for any business in the index. However, a source said Tarmac owner CRH has no plans to review the amount. They said: “Shareholders have not been beating a path to their door to discuss the issue.” The refusal comes despite a rebellion by 15% of investors at CRH’s annual meeting in April.
Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) has slumped to a £232m annual loss and scrapped its dividend, but investors were left relieved that the numbers were not worse. The bank was hit by £385m of last-minute claims for PPI compensation as well as merger-related costs. Chief executive David Duffy said it was “frustrating” to swallow the extra PPI bill. As a result of the losses, the lender – which pays Sir Richard Branson £11m a year to use the Virgin name – said it would postpone its final payouts for shareholders.
The threat of recession has receded in the Eurozone but a growth bounce-back looks unlikely next year, a leading ratings agency warned on Thursday. S&P forecast that eurozone growth will shift down a gear in 2020, falling from 1.2% this year to 1%. Although the manufacturing slump that pushed Germany to the cusp of recession could be “bottoming out” according to the agency, its senior economist Marion Amiot added that it did not expect a sharp rebound in industrial activity. S&P puts the chances of recession at lower than one in 10, but added the European Central Bank could be forced to cut rates again in March.
Hornby (HRN) is building up a head of steam as management get a turnaround at the troubled toy-train maker on track. Revenues rose 15% to £15.9m in the six months to Sept 30, while losses narrowed by £700,000 to £2.5m. Hornby last made a profit in 2012 and has been derailed by a string of problems including supply chain issues, a boardroom battle with investors and management shake-ups. Its troubles led to a bailout last year with a £12m overdraft from asset-based lender PNC and a £6m loan from biggest investor Phoenix Asset Management. Changing tastes in toys added to the business’s woes, and cut-price sales to deliver a short-term boost only pushed problems down the line for a short period.
Questor: ‘smaller small’ stocks and value investing are both due a bounce, so hold Aberforth. Questor investment trust bargain: the team that runs Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (ASL) does nothing but invest in smaller stocks according to the value style
