Senior Asda staff set to quit following Walmart shareholder payout

Liam Roche
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Senior Asda staff set to quit following Walmart shareholder payout

Asda chief executive Roger Burnley makes “personal” decision to leave

Senior staff are getting ready to quit Asda after they received payouts from a share scheme run by the supermarket’s US owner Walmart.

According to both industry sources and head-hunters, that say they have been approached by a number of Asda executives, inquiries have been above average for the sector.

Walmart recently completed the £6.8m sale of Asda to the Issa brothers and TDR Capital, the private equity firm.

A source in the industry told the Times that some of thee executives at Asda made the decision to leave because they would no longer be able to be part of the Walmart scheme. The Asda execs also referenced other issues including the failed tie-up with Sainsbury’s, the pandemic and the sale of the company.

The Times also reported that Asda has restructured its staff bonus to minimise the effect of the loss of the Walmart share scheme.

Staff can receive between 100% and 200% of their salary in cash bonuses, depending on their level of seniority.

Just this month Roger Burnley, chief executive of Asda, said that he had made the “personal” decision to leave amid rumours that the new owners had been looking for his replacement since Christmas. Burnley added that he could not see himself committing to the company for the next five years.

However, Burnley reaffirmed that his relationship with the supermarket’s owners was “magnanimous”, and he would bee continuing for thee next year to assist with succession planning.

Trevor Strain, Morrisons’ chief operating officer, Steve Murrells, the boss of Co-op, Jason Tarry, of Tesco, Stuart Machin, at M&S, Ronny Gottschlich, a former boss of Lidl, and Anthony Hemmerdinger, Asda’s chief operating officer, have been named by industry sources as potential candidates.

At the end of last year Asda was sold by Walmart to two billionaire Blackburn-based brothers in a £6.8bn deal. Mohsin and Zuber Issa are petrol station tycoons and backed by TDR Capital to buy the majority stake in the supermarket.

Shell plans thousands of ultra-rapid charging points across the UK

Liam Roche
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Shell plans thousands of ultra-rapid charging points across the UK

500 Shell-owned forecourts to have an average of one or two rapid chargers by 2025

Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) has confirmed its plan to install 5,000 electric vehicle chargers across the UK by 2025.

The oil company is also looking to invest in slower-on-street public charging points in an effort to firm up its place as a market leader established through the acquisition of Ubitricity earlier this year.

It is a part of Shell’s plan to move towards a strategy of carbon neutrality. The Anglo-Dutch FTSE 100 company is aiming to operate 500,000 charging points across the world by 2025 and up to 2.5m by 2030.

At present, Shell has just above 100 “rapid” 50KW and “ultra-rapid” 150KW chargers on its sites in the UK, while it is looking to double this figure by the end of 2021.

Sinead Lynch, who heads up Shell in the UK, commented further on the company’s ambitions to install charging devices:

“The ambition is to go to 5,000 by 2025. That’s not just going to be on the forecourts: we’re also wanting to step into that ‘destination charging’ space with the rapid and ultra-rapid . . . so you could see them in the car parks of supermarkets.”

Shell owns around 50% the Shell petrol stations in the UK, with the rest being franchises. Lynch added that she expects the 500 Shell-owned forecourts to have an average of one or two rapid chargers by 2025, while sites on A-roads in particular could have more.

“This is quite a lot of money we’re going to spend, so you have to spend it wisely where the commercial case is strongest,” she said.

Many sites would have “a hybrid model for decades”, but Shell would stop selling petrol entirely at some sites. Lynch added that Shell wants to create “the forecourt of the future”, which would include coffee shops and parcel pick-up services.

The company reinstated its plan to cut its carbon emissions footprint to net zero by 2050.

Shell, at the moment, has nearly 80,000 charging points across the world, including 2,700 on-street charging points in the UK, many of which were acquired through the acquisition of Ubitricity.

“The fuels market is slowly declining and the charging market is growing rapidly, so if we want to keep that market-leading position — and we do — we are going to have to grow that business quite considerably,” Lynch said.


Harwood ponders offer for superyacht services provider GYG

Andrew Hore
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Harwood ponders offer for superyacht services provider GYG

Harwood Capital is considering a bid for GYG (LON: GYG) that is lower than the original placing price fewer than three years ago. The possible offer for the superyacht painting and maintenance services provider is 92.5p a share in cash.
Harwood has been building up a stake in GYG and has reached 20.6%. Lonsdale Capital Partners sold a 16.8% stake on 18 January and Oryx International Growth Fund, which is related to Harwood, bought 16.65%. That was the first purchase by Harwood.
The share price had been around 70p at that time. The GYG share price rose to 87p prior to the possible bid announcem...

House prices a record high following extension of stamp duty holiday

Liam Roche
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0
House prices a record high following extension of stamp duty holiday

House prices rose by 1.1% in March

House prices increased at the fast rate in half a year in March following the chancellor’s decision to extend the stamp duty holiday, according to the Halifax house price index.

Property values rose by 1.1% last month, the largest increase in six months, and up from zero growth in February.

The average price of a home in the UK is now at £254,606, a record high.

The results of the survey provide an indication that the housing market in the UK is building momentum again following a mini slow-down in the lead up to the initial stamp duty holiday deadline in March.

Just over a month ago the chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to “stand behind home buyers”, extending the stamp duty holiday to June. The budget also included assurance that the government will guarantee mortgages up to 95% of a home’s value.

Russell Galley, the managing director at Halifax, said: “The continuation of government support measures has been key in boosting confidence in the housing market. The extended stamp duty holiday has put another spring in the step of home movers, whilst for those saving hard to buy their first home, the new mortgage guarantee scheme provides an alternative route on to the property ladder.”

According to Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the strongest momentum registered in the northwest, Yorkshire and the Humber, and Northern Ireland.

Jeremy Leaf, a former chairman at RICS , said: “The number of buyer enquiries, sales agreed and transactions were boosted by the stamp duty extension after lockdown and the conveyancing backlog prompted a market pause. Faster rollout of the vaccine too has helped to encourage more appraisals and instructions but not at a fast enough rate to head off further upward pressure on prices in the traditionally busier spring market.”

Biden retains robust stance on China by adding tech companies to black list

Liam Roche
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0
Biden retains robust stance on China by adding tech companies to black list

There was widespread expectation, and concern on the part of the Republican Party, that Joe Biden would be soft on China during his presidency. However, the US President has been more hawkish than many anticipated.

As tensions between the US and China continue to play out under the Biden administration, investors with exposure to Chinese stocks could have cause for concern. Since taking up his position in the Oval Office earlier in the year, the president described China as an assertive competitor to the open international system and has subsequently blacklisted stocks deemed to be a security risk.

On Thursday the Commerce Department added seven Chinese supercomputing organisations to a blacklist because of national security fears. Among the entities added to the list were: Tianjin Phytium Information Technology, Shanghai High-Performance Integrated Circuit Design Center, Sunway Microelectronics, the National Supercomputing Center Jinan, the National Supercomputing Center Shenzhen, the National Supercomputing Center Wuxi and the National Supercomputing Center Zhengzhou.

The seven entities were placed on the blacklist because they built supercomputers used by Chinese military actors, engaged in destabilising military modernisation efforts, and/or weapons of mass destruction programmes, according to the US government.

It is an accusation that has long been waged against China, which totally denies it is conducting these form of industrial espionage.

“Supercomputing capabilities are vital for the development of many – perhaps almost all – modern weapons and national security systems, such as nuclear weapons and hypersonic weapons,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo wrote in a statement.

“The Department of Commerce will use the full extent of its authorities to prevent China from leveraging U.S. technologies to support these destabilizing military modernization efforts,” she added.

Towards the end of his tenure, Donald Trump signed a law stating that foreign companies will not be listed on a US exchange if they do not cooperate with audits for three consecutive years from the US Public Accounting Oversight Board.

According to records on the boards website, there were 300 examples where inspections were denied. The vast majority were by Chinese companies, including Alibaba and Baidu, that are listed in America.

However, despite the growing tensions, and America’s forceful approach, 30 companies based in China were listed on the US stock exchange in 2020.

musicMagpie heads for AIM

Andrew Hore
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0
musicMagpie heads for AIM

Mobile phone and technology recycler and reseller musicMagpie could have an enterprise value of between £180m and £220m when it joins AIM in late April.
The company buys and resells smartphones, computers, CDs, DVDs, books and other products that might have ended up in landfill.
The market for pre-owned technology and media is estimated to be growing at 10% a year. Consumers appear to be more accepting of owning used technology products and musicMagpie already has strong market positions in the UK (as musicMagpie) and in the US (as Decluttr) so it is well placed to take advantage of this growt...

Asiamet Resources receives upgrade following process change at BKM

Liam Roche
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0
Asiamet Resources receives upgrade following process change at BKM

Asiamet given a buy recommendation with a price target of 8.9p per share from Optiva

Asiamet Resources (LON:ARS) could be set to gain from a change at the BKM copper project to a concentrate tank operation from heap leach.

That is according to broker Optiva.

Asiamet said in March that it would soon begin a thorough review of the flowsheet for the new process at the deposit in Kalimantan.

Altering the processing method could enhance copper findings by 40% or more through substantially faster production rates of copper cathode, Optiva has said.

In addition, production could be maintained at 25,000t per year for the full eight years of the mine’s initial lifespan, extending the life of the mine before the conversion of resources from existing reserves.

Optiva heaped further praise on the Asiamet board which brought an end to the Indokal Limited SPA and secured further funds to consolidate the AIM-listed company’s balance sheet.

Optiva gave a buy recommendation with a price target of 8.9p per share.

FTSE and pound drift lower despite fresh all-time highs on Wall Street

Liam Roche
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0
FTSE and pound drift lower despite fresh all-time highs on Wall Street

The FTSE 100 closed at a 13-month high yesterday – its best price since just before the UK’s first lockdown – before following up on Friday by falling 0.36% to 6,917.21. While it is “not enough to properly endanger its recent rise”, it is “still a knock to any momentum the index had been building this week”, said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

“What makes the FTSE’s minor dip more interesting was that it came alongside another slip from sterling, which was down 0.3% against the dollar and 0.1% against the euro,” Campbell added.

In the same way that concerns over vaccines and a third wave impacted the pound this week, concerns may now be spreading to the blue-chip index. “This in light of the WHO’s warning on Thursday that it is the lockdown measures in place since Christmas, and not the vaccine rollout, that has supressed covid-19 cases in the UK – a worry given the recent easing, and daily case numbers that, whilst falling, still number in the thousands,” said Campbell.

The tone was similarly muted in the Eurozone. The DAX remained the wrong side of 15,200 as it fell 0.2%, with the CAC flat a few points short of 6,170.

The Dow Jones, on the other hand, is looking to add 50 or so points this afternoon, an increase that would lift it to 33,550, and put it back in all-time high territory.

FTSE 100 Top Movers

Spirax-Sarco Engineering (2.34%), Compass Group (1.87%) and JD Sports (1.82%) are the top risers on early morning trading as the week draws to a close.

British American Tobacco (-2.48%), BAE Systems (-2.41%) and Glencore (-1.94%) are the bottom end of the FTSE 100 so far on Friday.

Boohoo secures new UK warehouse deal

Liam Roche
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0
Boohoo secures new UK warehouse deal

Boohoo (LON:BOO), the online fashion brand, confirmed on Friday that it has signed a long-term lease for a warehouse in Daventry in a move that will improve its storage capacity.

The deal will bring 500 new jobs when the new warehouse opens for business, which could rise by a further 1,000 jobs as things develop.

The site, formerly belonging to Arcadia, will provide net sales capacity in excess of £4 billion, according to the fast-fashion brand.

The news comes as Boohoo strives to improve its public perception by improving its standards across its supply chains. This is following the firm facing backlash last year over how much the group paid its staff and poor working conditions.

The AIM-listed firm also said the new warehouse is scalable and as such it is expecting to invest in excess of £50m of the coming years to further increase its capacity.

The warehouse will start being used in Q2 of the current financial year which began on March 1.

Johnson Matthey considers selling £2bn health arm

Liam Roche
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1
Johnson Matthey considers selling £2bn health arm

Johnson Matthey conducting a ‘strategic review’ ahead of possible sale

Johnson Matthey (LON:JMAT), the speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company, announced on Friday that it is considering offloading its health division, as the firm seeks to focus on other areas of the business.

The FTSE 100 company confirmed that it will be conducting a “strategic review” of the health arm, which chief executive Robert MacLeod says will be aimed at maximising value for shareholders.

“We have commenced a strategic review of Health, as we continue to focus resources to maximise value for our shareholders. As the world builds back greener following the pandemic, we have an important role to play in helping society address climate change through our sustainable technologies, and we remain focused on commercialising these and delivering our growth ambitions,” said McLeod.

Johnson Matthey’s health business is said to be valued at £2bn.

The firm will post its results of the financial year in May and is expecting them to meet the top end of their expectations.

Forecasts for Johnson Matthey’s underlying profit are at £469m, which would be a fall in the same figure from a year before, however that is down in large part to disruptions caused by the pandemic.

Robert McLeod made further comments on the company’s performance throughout the year:

“In what has been an extraordinary year, I would like to thank all of our employees for their dedication and efforts throughout this time. I am very pleased with the progress we made, particularly in the second half. As a result, group operating performance for the year is expected to be around the top end of market expectations, alongside continued strong management of working capital.”

“In the year, we continued to execute our growth strategy at pace. We are driving cashflow from our more established businesses to invest in our suite of exciting sustainable technologies that will enable decarbonisation and enhance circularity, including our portfolio of eLNO battery materials and hydrogen technologies.”

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