Latest news with #JohnFredriksen
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
'Britain has gone to hell': Norwegian shipping tycoon who is one of Britain's richest men says he's moving his businesses out of London after Labour's non-dom tax raid
The UK's ninth richest billionaire John Fredriksen has moved his business out of London following Labour's controversial non-dom tax raid. The Norwegian-born shipping tycoon said 'Britain had gone to hell' after it emerged he had closed the Sloane Square headquarters of one of his private businesses -Seatankers Management. It is the latest worrying sign of the huge exodus of wealth from the capital and comes after the UK suffered its biggest ever fall in billionaires on record. The Labour Government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where UK residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside the country. Mr Fredriksen, 81, who has an estimated wealth of around £13.7 billion, has been critical of Britain's poor economic prospects. He is now said to be spending most of his time running his business empire from the United Arab Emirates. Mr Fredriksen told Norwegian title E24 at a shipping event in Oslo earlier this month: 'It's starting to remind me more and more of Norway. 'Britain has gone to hell, like Norway.' He added: 'The entire Western world is on its way down.' 'People should get up and work even more, and go to the office instead of having a home office.' The oil tanker magnate, who owns one of London's most prestigious private homes in Chelsea, left Norway in 1978. He first got into oil trading in the 1960s in Beirut, before buying his first tankers in the 1970s. Mr Fredriksen made his fortune during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and in 2001 bought up the Grade II listed riverside Chelsea mansion for £37million. Then in 2004, he reportedly turned down former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's £100million offer for the house. It is now estimated to be worth a whopping £250million. Last month, it was revealed that the UK has suffered the biggest fall in billionaires on record. The number dropped to 156 this year from 165 in 2024, representing the sharpest decline in the Sunday Times Rich List's 37-year-history. It came after the Autumn Budget last year included several controversial tax changes. Since April, employers have had to start paying higher National Insurance contributions for their staff. Rachel Reeves, backed by Sir Keir Starmer, also made changes to capital gains tax and inheritance tax. 'Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling,' Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List, said when it was published last month. 'We are also finding fewer of the world's super rich are coming to live in the UK.' He said he was also 'struck by the strength of criticism for Rachel Reeves's Treasury' when speaking to wealthy individuals for the publication. Mr Watts said: 'We expected the abolition of non-dom status would anger affluent people from overseas. 'But homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October's budget.'
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Britain has gone to hell': UK's ninth richest man moves business out of London
The UK's ninth richest billionaire, Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, has said 'Britain has gone to hell' and has moved his business out of London in the latest worrying sign of the huge exodus of wealth from the capital. The 81-year-old, who owns one of London's most prestigious private homes, The Old Rectory in Chelsea, is now said to spend most of his time running his empire from the United Arab Emirates. The oil tanker magnate, whose wealth was estimated at around £13.7 billon in this year's Sunday Times Rich List, is the latest in a series of wealthy foreign-born London residents who are quitting the UK – or at least loosening their links – because of Labour's scrapping of the non-dom tax regime and their disillusion with Britain's poor economic prospects. He made his outspoken criticism at the Nor-Shipping event in Oslo earlier this month. Asked by Norwegian title E24 about his feelings for the UK, Fredriksen said: 'It's starting to remind me more and more of Norway. Britain has gone to hell, like Norway.' The billionaire, who became a Cypriot citizen nearly 20 years ago, added: 'I try to avoid Norway as much as I can.' The comments came after it emerged he has closed the London headquarters of Seatankers Management, one of his private shipping businesses, which was based on Sloane Square. Fredriksen, the son of an Oslo welder, left Norway in 1978 and bought his Grade II listed riverside Chelsea mansion for £37 million in 2001 from rival Theodore Angelopoulos of Greek tanker group Metrostar/Metrofin. The property is now estimated to be worth as much as £250 million, making it one of Britain's most valuable private residences. In 2004 former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich reportedly offered £100 million for the home but was turned down. The home includes ten bedroom suites and a vast ballroom, as well as a swimming pool and a tennis court. The Old Rectory was once home to the rector of Chelsea parish church, and dates to 1725. Its secluded two acres of gardens are among the largest of any private home in London. Former rectors include when George Valerian Wellesley, brother of the Duke of Wellington and Charles Kingsley Sr, father of Charles Kingsley, author of the Water Babies. It is not thought to be currently on the market. Wellington is said to have planned the Battle of Waterloo on its lawns. In the interview Fredriksen, widely known as JF in the shipping industry, added: 'The entire Western world is on its way down.' 'People should get up and work even more, and go to the office instead of having a home office.' Asked about his views on Donald Trump and trade policy, the shipping tycoon dismissed them as 'completely hopeless'. Frederiksen got into oil trading in the 1960s in Beirut, before buying his first tankers in the 1970s. The father of twin daughters Kathrine and Cecilie made his fortune during Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s and become the world's largest tanker owner, with more than 70 oil tankers. The family also have major interests in oil rigs and salmon farming. A number of other wealthy Norwegians have also reportedly left London this year, according to E24. Billionaire Helene Odfjell, 59, the biggest shareholder in Odfjell Drilling emigrated to the UK in 1989 but is now said to be based in Lugano, Switzerland. She bought a home on Victoria Road in Kensington £3.75 million in 2002. Another Norwegian shipping billionaire Peter T. Smedvig, 78, reportedly moved to Stavanger in Norway in March having lived in London since 1991. His townhouse in Chelsea Square is on the popular shopping street Kings Road, according to Norwegian newspaper VG. The centuries old non-dom system that has allowed wealthy foreign-born British residents to shield their overseas assets and income from UK tax ended on April 6 this year. Its abolition has been blamed for an unprecedented exodus of millionaires from the UK. There has been particular anger that foreign assets placed in trusts have lost their exemption from inheritance tax. Wealthy Londoners who have reportedly decided to quit London include steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal. Advisers Henley & Partners forecast that the UK will lose 16,500 high-net-worth individuals this year, more any other country. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Although FLEX LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG) insiders have sold lately, they have the highest ownership with 43% stake
Insiders appear to have a vested interest in FLEX LNG's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 50% ownership Recent sales by insiders This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. Every investor in FLEX LNG Ltd. (NYSE:FLNG) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 43% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk). And insiders own the top position in the company's share registry despite recent sales. Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of FLEX LNG, beginning with the chart below. Check out our latest analysis for FLEX LNG Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in FLEX LNG. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. If multiple institutions change their view on a stock at the same time, you could see the share price drop fast. It's therefore worth looking at FLEX LNG's earnings history below. Of course, the future is what really matters. Hedge funds don't have many shares in FLEX LNG. John Fredriksen is currently the largest shareholder, with 43% of shares outstanding. With 3.0% and 2.5% of the shares outstanding respectively, BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc. are the second and third largest shareholders. On looking further, we found that 50% of the shares are owned by the top 4 shareholders. In other words, these shareholders have a meaningful say in the decisions of the company. Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are a reasonable number of analysts covering the stock, so it might be useful to find out their aggregate view on the future. The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. It seems insiders own a significant proportion of FLEX LNG Ltd.. Insiders own US$562m worth of shares in the US$1.3b company. That's quite meaningful. Most would say this shows a good degree of alignment with shareholders, especially in a company of this size. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling. The general public-- including retail investors -- own 35% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies. It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand FLEX LNG better, we need to consider many other factors. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 3 warning signs for FLEX LNG (of which 1 is a bit unpleasant!) you should know about. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. 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