The Unseen Revolution by Peter Drucker is (like the Modern Corporation and Private Property) one of those books that has had a big influence on the world in which I inhabit, but also which is often misunderstood. Lots of people have probably heard the …Read more…
Shorting and stock-lending
Via LinkedIn (sorry!) I came across this interesting paper from RD:IR on what’s going on with regards to stock-lending in the UK. Definitely worth a quick read for anyone with an interest in this area.
A couple of headline – the overall level of lendi…Read more…
Rights issues and rump placings
Before xmas, Kier Group held a rights issue which was something of a flop, with only about a third of the shares being taken up. The left the underwriters and sub-underwriters on the hook, and there was a subsequent “rump placing” that saw them dump a …Read more…
Stewardship Code duplication
Last year I blogged about the duplicate text that lots of hedge funds were using to “explain” their non-compliance with the Stewardship Code. It’s still out there, and on a recent trawl I managed to find more examples of funds using the same blurb. But…Read more…
Shire takeover & derivatives
So the takeover of Shire PLC by Takeda Pharma has been completed. I thought I’d have a quick look for merger arbitrage plays in the filings.
A few familiar names in the list below. Most of these investors are listed as having an interest (presumably s…Read more…
Gigged: a new old story
One of the books I’ve read over the holiday period is Gigged by Sarah Kessler. It’s a quick read, nicely written and manages to get across some important points.
First up, if you’re reading the book from labour-oriented perspective you may find the st…Read more…
Infrastructure investment politics
A couple of stories caught my eye over the last few days, both relating to the ownership of infrastructure.
The first piece is from the FT and looks at the dividends paid to the owners of the UK’s airports. This contrasts the amounts paid to sharehol…Read more…
Employee representation at board level: first steps
As most people will be aware, the revised UK Corporate Governance Code kicks in next year, and an important element of it relates to “employee voice”. At the risk of overstating things, the change in the Code is significant as, for the first time in it…Read more…
Kier Group ownership changes
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Interserve / Kier Group short selling update
Update on my update: I’m reliably informed that other data sources suggest the actual total short position in Kier Group is more than double that in the FCA list. Interserve 50% higher than the totals on the FCA list.
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Interserve / Kier Group short selling etc
Following on from Kier Group (and Carillion, of course) it looks like Interserve is facing some serious financial pressure. According to the FT there are “rescue” talks underway that involve a debt for equity swap that would largely wipe out existing s…Read more…
Capita recruits employee directors
Just a “workers on boards” nugget, but Capita has announced it is seeking to recruit two employee directors. You can read the press blurb here or the story in the Times here.
When I dug around a bit I discovered that this had actually been announ…Read more…
Major shareholder turns against Ryanair board
Just a quickie, but I spotted last week that Baillie Gifford had voted against the re-election of both David Bonderman (chair) and Kyran McLaughlin (SID) at the Ryanair AGM in September.
Why does that matter? Because Baillie Gifford is a large (4%) a…Read more…
Kier Group in trouble
Kier Group’s shares took a nosedive on Friday afternoon, after the company announced a £250m rights issue intended to pay down its debt. The background to this, according to Kier Group, is a mixture of lenders pulling back from the construction sector,…Read more…
Sports Direct – Mike Ashley’s declining popularity
Perhaps others spotted this at the time, but I just realised that Mike Ashley saw a very sizeable vote against his re-election at the most recent Sports Direct AGM.
On the headline vote he walked it with a vote against of just under 10%, or 44m shares…Read more…
Chief execs, incentives and discounting
A quick plug for Are chief executives overpaid? by Deborah Hargreaves, formerly of the High Pay Centre. Spoiler alert: the answer is YES.
The book is a quick run through what top pay looks like, why it has changed and grown, some of the attempts …Read more…
Voting different ways on the same stock
There’s always a danger that a) if pension funds delegate voting rights to asset managers and b) if they appoint multiple asset managers then they may end up voting different ways on the same stock.
Googling around for something completely different t…Read more…
Union research shows support for Ryanair chairman even lower than reported
Union research shows support for Ryanair chairman even lower than reportedShareholder support for Ryanair chairman David Bonderman at the company’s recent AGM was even lower than reported, new research by trade union groups shows.29/10/2018The Internat…Read more…
What comes next?
I think that the outlines of a future corporate governance model for the UK are increasingly clear. Whilst I’m a long-term, strong proponent of such a change, I think the range of voices in favour is a good indication that it is likely. In very broad t…Read more…
Patisserie Holdings
Just a couple of bits of info relating to Patisserie Holdings – the company behind Patisserie Valerie.
I had a quick look at filings to see if there was anything of note. One interesting disclosure is this TR1 notice showing that back in April Blackro…Read more…