UK marketing firm Next 15 in talks to sell select brands, shares rise
June 27 (Reuters) - Embattled consultancy and marketing group Next 15 (NFGN.L), opens new tab said on Friday it is in early discussions regarding a potential sale of some of its brands, capping a tumultuous week in which it warned about its profit and disclosed issues at a unit.
The British company, whose brands include elvis, Outcast and Shopper Media Group, did not name the businesses it was contemplating selling or the parties it may be in talks with.
Next 15 sold its private equity consultancy, Palladium, earlier this month as part of its ongoing efforts to streamline operations.
Its shares jumped as much as 14.7% to 238.5 pence, their biggest intra-day gain since October 2022, after the group confirmed a Sky News report that Next 15 was in talks about a sale of "legacy" assets, including financial PR agency MHP.
The stock took a dive on Thursday after the company warned that its fiscal 2026 profit would likely fall materially below the market view. Next 15 also named a new CEO to succeed Tim Dyson following his retirement.
The company on Wednesday disclosed a "potential serious misconduct" at its U.S.-based venture-building firm, Mach49, which it bought in 2020.
Since cutting its profit forecast in September and including Thursday's losses, the group has shed roughly three quarters of its value.
Next 15's market capitalisation stood at about 209 million pounds ($286.87 million) as of Thursday's close of 208 pence per share, far from its peak of 1,476 pence in 2022.
($1 = 0.7285 pounds)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
9 minutes ago
- Reuters
Mexico's Terrafina to remove CIBanco as trustee after US sanctions
MEXICO CITY, June 27 (Reuters) - Mexican real estate trust Terrafina said on Friday it planned to remove bank CIBanco as its trustee due to U.S. money laundering accusations, which resulted in Mexico's banking regulator stepping in to manage it. CIBanco has rejected the sanctions from the U.S. Treasury Department, which prohibit certain transactions with the firm. President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Thursday she had not received any evidence of money laundering from the U.S., which also sanctioned two other financial operators, Vector Casa de Bolsa and Intercam Banco.
Reuters
13 minutes ago
- Reuters
Bolivia crypto transactions up over 530% amid currency woes
June 27 (Reuters) - Bolivia's central bank on Friday reiterated a dramatic uptick in transactions of digital assets, following a Reuters report that showed how more Bolivians were turning to crypto exchanges like Binance and stablecoins like Tether as a hedge against the depreciation of the local boliviano currency. According to new figures published on Friday by the Bolivian central bank, transactions using Electronic Payment Channels and Instruments for Virtual Assets (VA) soared more than 530%, from $46.5 million in the first half of 2024, to $294 million in the same period of 2025. New figures showed monthly transactions at a record $68 million in May. "These tools have facilitated access to foreign currency transactions, including remittances, small purchases and payments, benefiting micro and small business owners across various sectors, as well as families nationwide," the bank said in a statement. Cryptocurrencies were outlawed in Bolivia until June last year. Since the ban was lifted, transaction volumes reached $430 million across more than 10,000 individual operations, the bank said. The Bolivian government was working on a "comprehensive regulatory framework for financial technology companies," that aligns with international standards set by the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT), the bank added. Bolivians are facing an acute economic crisis, with reserves of dollars near zero, inflation at 40-year highs and fuel shortages causing long lines at the pump. The South American country's currency has lost half its value on the black market this year, even as the official exchange rate has been held artificially steady by government intervention. That has meant more Bolivians are looking for alternatives to protect their savings and make transactions. Crypto proponents have pushed blockchain-based tokens as an answer, though economists warn that these digital offerings come with risks. "This (crypto uptick) isn't a sign of stability," said former central bank head Jose Gabriel Espinoza. "It's more a reflection of the deteriorating purchasing power of households."
Reuters
18 minutes ago
- Reuters
Tesla fails to end Florida lawsuit over fatal Model S crash
June 27 (Reuters) - Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab failed to persuade a federal judge to end a lawsuit over the death of a woman struck after an Autopilot-equipped Model S ran off the road in Key Largo, Florida, paving the way for a possible trial next month. U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami said the estate of Naibel Benavides Leon, and her former boyfriend Dillon Angulo, may pursue design defect and failure to warn claims against billionaire Elon Musk's automaker, and seek punitive damages. A July 14 trial is scheduled. Lawyers for Tesla and the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Tesla, based in Austin, Texas, has long faced questions about the safety of its self-driving technology. It has said its features are meant for "fully attentive" drivers, opens new tab holding the steering wheel, and the features do not make its vehicles autonomous. The lawsuit concerned an April 25, 2019 incident where George McGee drove his 2019 Model S at about 62 miles an hour through an intersection into the victims' parked Chevrolet Tahoe, which they were standing beside on a shoulder. McGee had reached down to pick up a cellphone he dropped on his car's floorboard, and allegedly received no alerts as he ran a stop sign and stop light before hitting the SUV, which struck the victims. Benavides Leon was allegedly thrown 75 feet to her death, while Angulo suffered serious injuries. In a 98-page decision, Bloom said the plaintiffs offered sufficient evidence that Autopilot defects were a "substantial factor" in their injuries. While McGee, who is not a defendant, conceded he was not driving safely, that didn't automatically make him solely responsible, "particularly given McGee's testimony that he expected Autopilot to avoid the collision," the judge wrote. Bloom said the failure to warn claim survived in part because Autopilot's risks might be hard to extract from the owner's manual on Model S touchscreens. The judge also dismissed manufacturing defect and negligent misrepresentation claims. The case is Benavides v Tesla Inc., U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 21-21940.
