Argentex secures fresh credit facility and revamps board as trading resumes
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - Argentex Group (AGFX.L), opens new tab will resume trading on London's AIM on Tuesday after securing an initial six month 20 million pounds ($26.57 million) revolving credit facility with IFX Payments, the UK currency risk manager said in a statement.
Argentex's shares have been suspended from trading since April 22 following sharp falls in the U.S. dollar that squeezed its finances.
The Reuters Tariff Watch newsletter is your daily guide to the latest global trade and tariff news. Sign up here.
The company became one of the first known casualties of global financial market turmoil sparked by escalating trade tensions stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies.
On April 25, cross-border payments provider IFX Payments said it would pay 2.49 pence per Argentex share to acquire the embattled company, valuing the firm at about 3 million pounds. IFX has also provided Argentex with secured bridge funding of about 10.5 million pounds.
The revolving credit facility (RCF) enables Argentex to draw down funds to meet margin calls from its liquidity providers, in the event of further adverse foreign exchange movements, the company said.
The RCF has an interest rate of 15% per annum and a non-utilisation fee of 7.5% per annum, and may be extended to 12 months from the date of the RCF agreement.
The firm separately said that Chief Financial Officer Guy Rudolph had resigned from his role, but would serve a six month notice period.
Henry Beckwith, Digby Jones, Rina Ladva and Jeff Parker, all non-executive directors of the company, have also agreed to leave the Argentex board.
The board now consists of Nigel Railton as non-executive chairman, Jonathan Gray as senior independent non-executive director, Tim Haldenby as independent non-executive director and Tim Rudman as chief executive officer.
($1 = 0.7527 pounds)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Germany's Merz to face Trump in Oval Office on inaugural trip
BERLIN/WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Germany's new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, will hold his first face-to-face talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday in a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office as Europe seeks to stave off looming U.S. tariffs and sustain U.S. backing for Ukraine. The 69-year-old conservative, who took the helm of Europe's largest economy last month, is scheduled to join Trump for lunch and one-on-one talks that analysts say could set the tone for U.S.-German ties for years to come. Germany's export-oriented economy stands more to lose from U.S. tariffs than others and the country is also the second largest military and financial backer of Ukraine in its defence against Russia's invasion, after the United States. The meeting comes amid a broader fraying of the transatlantic relationship. Trump's administration has, for example, intervened in domestic European politics in a break with past practise, aligning with right-wing political movements and challenging European policies on immigration and free speech. The encounter will be closely watched after some recent meetings in the Oval Office, with the leaders of Ukraine and South Africa, for example, turned tense when Trump ambushed them with false claims and accusations. Merz and his entourage have sought coaching from other leaders on how to deal with Trump to avoid conflict. The meeting comes just weeks before a critical summit of the NATO Western military alliance which is looking increasingly strained given Trump's threats not to come to the aid of U.S. allies that do not up their spending on defence. Such threats are of particular concern to Germany, which has relied on U.S. nuclear deterrence for its security since the end of World War Two. Merz has already made some bold policy moves that he can highlight to appease Trump, analysts said. He has backed Trump's demand to more than double NATO's spending target to 5% of economic output, earning unprecedented praise last weekend from U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Merz, who has vowed a more assertive foreign policy, also coordinated a visit by European leaders to Kyiv just days after taking office, two European diplomat sources said. "This shows that Germany is willing to accept a greater responsibility for Ukraine and the European security order – these are all things that have been wished for in the United States over years and will be welcomed," said Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. "Germany is well-positioned to show that it can help the United States achieve its foreign policy goals." The fact Merz was invited to stay in the Blair House guest quarters across from the White House is a positive signal, said analysts. Merz and Trump could even find some common ground given their business backgrounds, their membership in right-of-centre political parties, their focus on fighting illegal immigration and their fondness for golf, said Steven Sokol, President and CEO of the American Council on Germany. They also both had run-ins with former German chancellor Angela Merkel - who once squeezed Merz out of top-level politics. Moreover Merz has described himself as "a convinced transatlanticist", chairing the "Atlantic Bridge", a non-profit fostering U.S.-German ties, for 10 years. "They might discover a kindred spirit," Sokol said. Still, Trump was unpredictable, while Merz was impulsive, warned analysts, and there were huge frictions in the relationship. "The challenge that he could face is ... if Trump says something is erroneous, do you correct him? Do you risk turning it into an argument?" said Jeffrey Rathke, a former U.S. diplomat and president of the American-German Institute at the Johns Hopkins University in Washington. "Or do you find a way to indicate that you see it differently, but not let it sidetrack the conversation." U.S. administration officials remain upset that Merz criticized Trump shortly before the 2024 U.S. election, a source familiar with its thinking said. And, on the eve of his own election victory, Merz criticised the "ultimately outrageous" comments flowing from Washington during the campaign, comparing them to hostile interventions from Russia. Another possible landmine could be a recent German proposal for a levy on online platforms such as Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), opens new tab, and Meta's Facebook (META.O), opens new tab, especially given Trump's close ties with the U.S. tech industry, he said.
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Owner of Scotch whisky giant Bruichladdich scraps target
However, shares in the Paris-listed closed up more than 5%, after Remy signalled the 'excellent execution' of cost-cutting plans, with €85 million achieved compared with €50m expected. Remy said it has now saved €230m over the last two years. The savings partially offset a sharp decline in sales at the company, which fell by 4.8% last year to €984.6m. Operating profit tumbled by 30.5% to €217m. The decision to withdraw a long-term growth target set in 2020 underlines the continuing turbulence in the global spirits market that has arisen from a slowdown in major markets such as the US and China and the ongoing uncertainty sparked by President Donald Trump's trade tariffs. That took a further turn this week when the President doubled US tariffs on foreign aluminium and steel to 50%, although the UK has so far secured an exemption. Remy Cointreau, which is perhaps best known for its Cognac and brandy, is the latest big-name Scotch whisky distiller to highlight the impact of tariffs on business, following Diageo and Pernod Ricard. Diageo reported last month that US tariffs may hit profits by up to $150m per year, having withdrawn its guidance earlier in the year amid tariff uncertainty, although that was before it was ruled by the US Court of International Trade that the Trump administration did not have the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on other countries. The ruling, which covered the 10% global baseline tariff and the 50% tariff threatened against the European Union, has been appealed. Remy Cointreau said yesterday: 'Given the continued lack of macroeconomic visibility, the geopolitical uncertainties surrounding US-China tariff policies, and the absence to date of a recovery in the US market based on improving underlying trends… Remy Cointreau believes the conditions requited to maintain its 2029-2030 targets are no longer in place. 'As a result, the group has opted to withdraw its objectives for 2029/30 originally issued in June 2020. 'This decision also reflects the arrival of a new chief executive officer, who will establish his own strategic roadmap while remaining aligned with the value strategy implemented by the group for decades.' The removal of the long-term target was announced as Remy, which has appointed Franck Marilly as its new chief executive, replacing Eric Vallat, reported that sales and profits tumbled in its 2024/2025 financial year. However, it expects to return to growth in the current year. Excluding any increase in customs duties in China and the US, it expects operating profit to increase in the high single-digit to low double-digit [percentage] range. The company estimates that potential increases in duties will have a maximum gross impact of €100m on operating profit (€60m in China and €40m in the US) but said it could offset this by 35% through its own action plan, reducing the maximum net impact to €65m. These estimates are based on additional anti-dumping duties of 38.1% on Cognac imports arriving in China, and custom duties of 20% on imports from the EU and 10% from the UK and Barbados on goods entering the US. Remy said it factored in 10% custom duties on all imports to the US for the April-June 2025, corresponding to the 90-day grace period. Shares in Remy Cointreau, which trade on the Paris stock market, were trading up 4% at €48.8 around 5.30pm last night.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
September Fed rate cut bets undermine dollar, handing rupee a breather
MUMBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee is set to open slightly higher on Thursday, aided by a decline in the U.S. dollar after weaker-than-expected private payrolls and services data spurred concerns over the U.S. economic outlook and fuelled hopes of a dovish Federal Reserve stance. The 1-month non-deliverable forward indicated a open in the 85.82-85.84 range, versus 85.90 in the previous session. The Indian currency has logged daily losses in six of the past seven sessions, and on Wednesday it slipped past the 86 level. "The rupee should find relief from its downtrend," a currency trader at a Mumbai-based bank said. Whether that opening move has any follow through or holds is doubtful, he said. The 85.70–85.75 zone will now act a support for the dollar/rupee pair, while resistance is in the 86.00–86.10 region, he added. The current bias, he noted, favours a break past 86.00–86.10 rather than a sustained move dip below 85.70–85.75. The dollar dropped against its major peers on Wednesday and the currency was down versus Asian currencies on Thursday after two disappointing sets of data raised the odds of the Fed cutting rates at the September meeting. The probability of Fed rate reduction this month remains low. The private survey showed the increase in U.S. private payrolls was well short of estimates. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) report on the U.S. services sector unexpectedly showed a contraction. The ISM's measure of prices paid for services inputs rose to 68.7, the highest level since November 2022, from 65.1 in April. Concerns around the U.S. economic outlook mounted after the data, pushing U.S. yields and the dollar lower, Morgan Stanley said in its daily commentary. Private payroll has been slowing since the fourth quarter of 2024, signalling softening in the labour market and the ISM services data signals stagflation concerns, it added. KEY INDICATORS: ** One-month non-deliverable rupee forward at 85.98; onshore one-month forward premium at 10.75 paise ** Dollar index at 98.86 ** Brent crude futures down 0.2% at $64.8 per barrel ** Ten-year U.S. note yield at 4.37%, dropped 10 basis points on Wednesday ** As per NSDL data, foreign investors sold a net $385.6 million worth of Indian shares on June 3 ** NSDL data shows foreign investors bought a net $15 million worth of Indian bonds on June 3
