HSBC slows down moves to Paris over Brexit delay. The pace of job relocations from Britain to France by HSBC Holdings (HSBA) is expected to slow as the UK’s exit from the European Union is delayed. The bank has said that it plans to move as many as a thousand roles to Paris to mitigate the impact of Brexit. However, this week EU leaders put off the UK’s departure until the end of October to give parliament time to come to an agreement. Ewen Stevenson, HSBC’s finance chief, said at the bank’s annual meeting yesterday that this “inevitably” meant that the lender would slow down the relocations.
Non-Standard Finance admits infringements. Non-Standard Finance (NSF) admitted last night that it had made “certain technical infringements” after its hostile takeover target suggested that it may have illegally paid dividends. Hours after Provident Financial (PFG), the £1.3 billion sub-prime lending group, had told investors that it “remains gravely concerned” about its predator’s lack of comment on the claims, NSF issued a statement insisting that all the contraventions “can be rectified”. While Non-Standard Finance said this month that more than half of Provident’s shareholders had formally accepted its offer, this was overshadowed when Provident suggested that payments by its suitor in 2016 and 2018 had breached the Companies Act. Yesterday Provident said: “The board remains gravely concerned by Non-Standard Finance’s failure to respond to the material outstanding questions, raised by Provident ten days ago.” It also claimed that the “vast majority” of investors who had backed the takeover for Provident also held shares in NSF.
Calm markets cause storm for Plus500. More than £250 million has been wiped off the value of Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS), the financial betting business, after it warned that quarterly revenues had collapsed by more than 80% year-on-year in a slump it blamed on “extremely subdued” markets. Shares in the company tumbled by 224½p, more than 31%, to close at 495p, their lowest level in almost two years, after it said that revenues for the three months to the end of March had dropped to $53.9 million, down nearly 82% from $297.3 million a year earlier, when trading had been buoyed by interest in cryptocurrencies. Compared with the fourth quarter, revenue was down by 65%.
North Sea buccaneer Algy Cluff jumps ship aged 78. Described as a swashbuckling buccaneer and man about town in his day, one of the most colourful characters in the North Sea oil industry is set to leave the board of the company he founded. Algy Cluff, 78, will retire as chairman of Cluff Natural Resources (CLNR) after its annual meeting later in the year. He intends to concentrate on writing books and on his charitable efforts, which include The Remembrance Trust, which tends to the graves of those who died in wars before 1914.
Competition watchdog swats £40m pest control merger of Rentokil Initial (RTO) and Mitie Group (MTO). The competition watchdog has warned that the merger of two of Britain’s biggest pest control companies could push up prices for customers. The Competition and Markets Authority said that it would launch an in-depth inquiry into Rentokil Initial’s takeover of Mitie’s pest control unit unless the companies made proposals to address its concerns. Rentokil said in October that it had acquired Mitie Pest Control for £40 million. It did not opt to notify the CMA, but the watchdog decided to investigate and said yesterday that it had concluded the merger could result in a “substantial reduction in competition”.
National Express finds a seat on Silicon Valley shuttle bus We Drive U. National Express Group (NEX) has bought a 60% stake in an American company that runs employee shuttle bus services to offices in Silicon Valley. The British transport group has agreed to pay $84.3 million for a majority stake in We Drive U. National Express used to be Britain’s biggest train operator, but it is now focused on bus and coach services in the UK and abroad, including school buses in the United States and buses and coaches in Spain.
The City was spooked yesterday after the second largest shareholder in Pets at Home Group (PETS) sold its stake, sending shares in the pet supplies retailer down sharply. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board sold its 10.8% in Pets at Home for 148p a share, a 9% discount to Thursday’s close. The sale is being handled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and should close on Tuesday. The Canadian investor has not disclosed its reason for selling, but Pets was its only British retail holding and the share sale is likely more to do with its portfolio reshaping needs than a specific Pets at Home issue.
The sell-off in Stagecoach Group (SGC) continued as the market reacted to the decision by the government to disqualify it from bidding for rail franchises. The decision means that Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin brand could disappear from Britain’s railways as Stagecoach is its partner in running train services.
G4S (GFS) continued to rise after it emerged that the Montreal-based Garda World Security was eyeing a takeover that could value the government contractor at £3 billion. After Garda World said it was considering a cash bid, G4S shares rose 11p to 229¼p.
