Latest news with #NeilRecord
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With 38% ownership, Record plc (LON:REC) insiders have a lot riding on the company's future
Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Record's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership Institutional ownership in Record is 32% Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. To get a sense of who is truly in control of Record plc (LON:REC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 38% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company. With such a notable stake in the company, insiders would be highly incentivised to make value accretive decisions. In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Record. See our latest analysis for Record Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. Record already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Record's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Record is not owned by hedge funds. Neil Record is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 10% and 8.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Jan Hendrik Witte is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares. To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making. 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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time. 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. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Record plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£96m, and insiders have UK£36m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently. The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders. It seems that Private Companies own 3.2%, of the Record stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Record has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts . 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.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
With 38% ownership, Record plc (LON:REC) insiders have a lot riding on the company's future
Insiders appear to have a vested interest in Record's growth, as seen by their sizeable ownership A total of 4 investors have a majority stake in the company with 52% ownership Institutional ownership in Record is 32% Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. To get a sense of who is truly in control of Record plc (LON:REC), it is important to understand the ownership structure of the business. And the group that holds the biggest piece of the pie are individual insiders with 38% ownership. In other words, the group stands to gain the most (or lose the most) from their investment into the company. With such a notable stake in the company, insiders would be highly incentivised to make value accretive decisions. In the chart below, we zoom in on the different ownership groups of Record. See our latest analysis for Record Institutional investors commonly compare their own returns to the returns of a commonly followed index. So they generally do consider buying larger companies that are included in the relevant benchmark index. Record already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Record's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Record is not owned by hedge funds. Neil Record is currently the largest shareholder, with 27% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 10% and 8.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively. Furthermore, CEO Jan Hendrik Witte is the owner of 0.7% of the company's shares. To make our study more interesting, we found that the top 4 shareholders control more than half of the company which implies that this group has considerable sway over the company's decision-making. 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 is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time. 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. I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions. Our information suggests that insiders maintain a significant holding in Record plc. It has a market capitalization of just UK£96m, and insiders have UK£36m worth of shares in their own names. It is great to see insiders so invested in the business. It might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying recently. The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders. It seems that Private Companies own 3.2%, of the Record stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company. While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Take risks for example - Record has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of. If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts . 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. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Government spent the Royal Mail pension pot – costing taxpayers £4m a day
Taxpayers have been handed a £45bn bill for Royal Mail's pensions after government mismanagement left the scheme with no money to pay retirees, The Telegraph can reveal. The coalition government took over most of the company's pensions in 2012 ahead of privatisation, but then spent the scheme's assets and left taxpayers on the hook for decades of payments, an expert warned. As a result, the gold-plated scheme has cost taxpayers £16.5bn since 2012, an average of around £3.8m a day, fresh analysis of official data shows. There is another £28.7bn still to pay before the scheme finally ends. It comes after The Telegraph exposed several incidents of waste and mismanagement across the UK's public sector pension schemes. The NHS was found to have lost £5.6m by sending money to dead pensioners that cannot be recovered and the Government has spent £1.25bn bailing out the Environment Agency's pension scheme. Royal Mail had been facing difficulties since the turn of the century, as the rise of email and the internet affected demand for posting letters. In 2010, the coalition government started making the argument for privatisation and two years later, Royal Mail was separated from the Post Office. To prepare for privatisation, the Government also assumed responsibility for the Royal Mail Pension Plan's deficit and most of its pensions in April 2012. Retirement payments accrued up to this date were moved into the newly created Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme. However, the Government did not use the scheme's existing funds to make investments for future pension payments. Instead, Parliament has since voted on the amount needed each year, and the pensions are then paid in full – leaving the taxpayer to foot the bill. Neil Record, a former Bank of England economist, said: 'The Government promised index-linked pensions to a large group of employees, then took the £29bn that sat in the pension fund and spent it. 'Out of the blue, a new unfunded liability of approximately £50bn emerged solely to allow the Government to sell off the Royal Mail. 'That £50bn is saddling future taxpayers with the obligation to repay this debt.' The scheme is closed, meaning no one else can join and no more contributions are added. It will run for as long as there are members drawing a pension. The cost of the scheme has risen from £1.2bn back in 2012-13 to £1.6bn last year. The scheme forecasts that this will rise to £1.7bn this year. Almost 204,000 retirees are already receiving payments, while another 145,000 have built up pensions and are still working. The pensions on offer provide a guaranteed, inflation-linked income for life, and many come with a tax-free lump sum. Royal Mail's privatisation began in 2013 and was completed by 2015. Current workers are members of the Royal Mail Pension Plan and have earned contributions towards retirement pots, rather than final salary pensions, since 2018. The scheme's latest valuation showed a surplus of over £1bn. In October last year, the company then became the first in Britain to offer a collective pension fund, similar to those in Canada and Denmark. It is currently in the middle of a takeover bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. The Cabinet Office, which is responsible for the closed scheme, declined to comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The bloated quango with a £1.7bn pensions bill – paid for by the taxpayer
Taxpayers have been handed an eight-figure bill for a gold-plated government pension scheme that cannot afford its payments, new figures show. The Environment Agency's closed pension fund has taken £1.25bn in government bailouts and needs almost £400m more, according to a Freedom of Information request by The Telegraph. The scheme still holds £264m in assets, but has lost £65m through investments in the past two years alone. The taxpayer has funded every pension payment made in the past 19 years. In the late 1980s, Britain's state-run water industry employed 50,000 workers, and their pensions were held in the Water Authorities Superannuation Fund. After privatisation in 1989, staff and their pensions were transferred to the newly-formed National Rivers Authority and private water companies. All remaining pensions, for those who had either already retired or left to work elsewhere, were moved into a closed fund. The Government and the National Rivers Authority accepted that the fund might one day be unable to meet its obligations, but every pension was also legally guaranteed by the state. When the Environment Agency was created in 1996, it took over managing the scheme, and by the scheme's 2004 valuation, it had a deficit of £880m. The former environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, duly contacted the scheme to confirm it would run out of money by autumn of 2006, and that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would fully fund pensions from April the same year. The arrangement cost the taxpayer £91m in 2006-07, and has required an average of £69.5m a year in funding ever since. Neil Record, a pensions expert and former Bank of England economist, said it was a glaring example of 'both waste and protecting public sector workers at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.' He said: 'A whole panoply of scheme compliance and administration is effectively being wasted because the Government has chosen to bail out the failing scheme with cash every year – leaving the pension scheme as onlooker. 'Were it in the private sector, the same scheme would fall into the Pension Protection Fund, and the pensioners would see a fall in their pensions – sharing the costs of the bailout. 'It is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with public sector culture.' The generous scheme, which is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme, provides retirees with a pension worth one 80th of their final salary for every year worked, along with an automatic tax-free lump sum of three times their annual entitlement. It means a worker retiring on £50,000 after a 30-year career would receive £18,750 a year, rising annually with inflation, and a one-off lump sum of £56,000. Almost 8,800 pensioners are currently being paid by the scheme, with nearly 600 more yet to claim. It cost the taxpayer £42m in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency's multi-billion pound open scheme, run separately for current workers, made a profit of £369m during the same period. Across the two schemes combined, there are 103 members with annual pensions in excess of £50,000, and two members receiving more than £100,000. An Environment Agency spokesman said: 'The Closed Fund pension has outperformed its benchmark on investment returns, and grant-in-aid payments are used to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to fund members' pensions. 'It is managed according to the high standards of financial integrity expected of those responsible for the management of public assets.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
01-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The bloated quango with a £1.7bn pensions bill – paid for by the taxpayer
Taxpayers have been handed an eight-figure bill for a gold-plated government pension scheme that cannot afford its payments, new figures show. The Environment Agency's closed pension fund has taken £1.25bn in government bailouts and needs almost £400m more, according to a Freedom of Information request by The Telegraph. The scheme still holds £264m in assets, but has lost £65m through investments in the past two years alone. The taxpayer has funded every pension payment made in the past 19 years. In the late 1980s, Britain's state-run water industry employed 50,000 workers, and their pensions were held in the Water Authorities Superannuation Fund. After privatisation in 1989, staff and their pensions were transferred to the newly-formed National Rivers Authority and private water companies. All remaining pensions, for those who had either already retired or left to work elsewhere, were moved into a closed fund. The Government and the National Rivers Authority accepted that the fund might one day be unable to meet its obligations, but every pension was also legally guaranteed by the state. When the Environment Agency was created in 1996, it took over managing the scheme, and by the scheme's 2004 valuation, it had a deficit of £880m. The former environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, duly contacted the scheme to confirm it would run out of money by autumn of 2006, and that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would fully fund pensions from April the same year. The arrangement cost the taxpayer £91m in 2006-07, and has required an average of £69.5m a year in funding ever since. Neil Record, a pensions expert and former Bank of England economist, said it was a glaring example of 'both waste and protecting public sector workers at the expense of ordinary taxpayers.' He said: 'A whole panoply of scheme compliance and administration is effectively being wasted because the Government has chosen to bail out the failing scheme with cash every year – leaving the pension scheme as onlooker. 'Were it in the private sector, the same scheme would fall into the Pension Protection Fund, and the pensioners would see a fall in their pensions – sharing the costs of the bailout. 'It is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with public sector culture.' The generous scheme, which is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme, provides retirees with a pension worth one 80th of their final salary for every year worked, along with an automatic tax-free lump sum of three times their annual entitlement. It means a worker retiring on £50,000 after a 30-year career would receive £18,750 a year, rising annually with inflation, and a one-off lump sum of £56,000. Almost 8,800 pensioners are currently being paid by the scheme, with nearly 600 more yet to claim. It cost the taxpayer £42m in 2023-24. Meanwhile, the Environment Agency's multi-billion pound open scheme, run separately for current workers, made a profit of £369m during the same period. Across the two schemes combined, there are 103 members with annual pensions in excess of £50,000, and two members receiving more than £100,000. An Environment Agency spokesman said: 'The Closed Fund pension has outperformed its benchmark on investment returns, and grant-in-aid payments are used to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to fund members' pensions. 'It is managed according to the high standards of financial integrity expected of those responsible for the management of public assets.'
