Latest news with #Prideaux
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Executive group discuss revival for Britain's smallcap AIM market
By Charlie Conchie LONDON (Reuters) - A group of executives and financiers has in recent weeks met with companies and brokers to find backing for a plan to approach the London Stock Exchange with a proposal to revitalise its struggling Alternative Investment Market. Under the plans, AIM - which was founded in the 1990s to help smaller companies gain access to capital - would be rebranded and relaunched as the Global Growth Exchange, according to a presentation by the group seen by Reuters. Two people with knowledge of the talks said the plan would allow new investors to take a stake in the market. The group is led by Jon Prideaux, the former chief executive of London-listed fintech company Boku. "We believe that there's an opportunity for the London ecosystem to provide a compelling public alternative to many companies worldwide which are currently using private capital to fund their growth," Prideaux told Reuters. "We plan to discuss the details of our strategy and approach with LSEG soon. In preparation for that meeting, we have consulted widely with brokers, market makers, fund managers and other interested parties. We have been gratified by the very widespread support that we have received." Prideaux did not give details about the proposals. A source who had met with the group said the plan would involve LSEG spinning off AIM to allow new investors to come in. LSEG, however, said it was not interested in making such a deal. "AIM is not for sale," LSEG said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. "It is a vital component of our strategy to build a funding continuum that is seamlessly connected so that companies can start, grow, scale and stay in the UK. "Over the past 30 years, AIM has established its position as the preeminent market for dynamic high-growth businesses supported by a remarkable community of companies, advisors and investors." LSEG has previously dismissed suggestions it could sell the wider London Stock Exchange and CEO David Schwimmer told reporters last week he sees the exchange business as a "core part" of its strategy. AIM and the wider London Stock Exchange have suffered an exodus in the past two years as a wave of companies have either been taken private or delisted. Last July, Britain's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, pushed through what it called the biggest overhaul of its listing rules in 30 years in a bid to boost London's appeal as a destination for initial public offerings. A prolonged period of withdrawals from UK-focused equity funds has weighed on valuations. UK funds suffered 9.6 billion pounds ($12.38 billion) of outflows in 2024, marking the ninth consecutive year and the worst on record relative to the wider market, according to funds group Calastone. After a flurry of delistings and deals to take companies private last year, the number of companies listed on AIM slumped below 700 for the first time since 2001, according to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. LSEG has been transformed into a data and analytics behemoth by Schwimmer, in part through its $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv completed in 2021. Shares in LSEG are trading up around 155% since he took over in April 2018, implying a market capitalisation for the company of 57.5 billion pounds, according to LSEG data. Reuters provides news for LSEG's news and data terminal Workspace. The diverging fortunes of LSEG and its exchange have triggered calls from some investors to spin off the exchange business. "A strategic spin-off of LSE and U.S. relisting of LSEG could allow its shares to trade at a much higher multiple, bridging the gap with its U.S. peer, S&P Global," said Stephen Yiu, the chief executive of equity fund Blue Whale, an LSEG shareholder. Tim Cockroft, chair of Singer Capital Markets, an adviser to AIM-listed companies, said his firm would be interested in backing a plan for LSEG to spin off its smaller market, should LSEG be open to the idea. "We are great believers in (the UK smallcap market), and enhanced autonomy and identity could help grow the market segment," Cockroft said. ($1 = 0.7754 pounds)
Reuters
08-03-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Executive group discuss revival for Britain's smallcap AIM market
LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - A group of executives and financiers has in recent weeks met with companies and brokers to find backing for a plan to approach the London Stock Exchange with a proposal to revitalise its struggling Alternative Investment Market. Under the plans, AIM - which was founded in the 1990s to help smaller companies gain access to capital - would be rebranded and relaunched as the Global Growth Exchange, according to a presentation by the group seen by Reuters. Two people with knowledge of the talks said the plan would allow new investors to take a stake in the market. The group is led by Jon Prideaux, the former chief executive of London-listed fintech company Boku (BOKU.L), opens new tab. "We believe that there's an opportunity for the London ecosystem to provide a compelling public alternative to many companies worldwide which are currently using private capital to fund their growth," Prideaux told Reuters. "We plan to discuss the details of our strategy and approach with LSEG soon. In preparation for that meeting, we have consulted widely with brokers, market makers, fund managers and other interested parties. We have been gratified by the very widespread support that we have received." Prideaux did not give details about the proposals. A source who had met with the group said the plan would involve LSEG (LSEG.L), opens new tab spinning off AIM to allow new investors to come in. LSEG, however, said it was not interested in making such a deal. "AIM is not for sale," LSEG said in a statement to Reuters on Friday. "It is a vital component of our strategy to build a funding continuum that is seamlessly connected so that companies can start, grow, scale and stay in the UK. "Over the past 30 years, AIM has established its position as the preeminent market for dynamic high-growth businesses supported by a remarkable community of companies, advisors and investors." LSEG has previously dismissed suggestions it could sell the wider London Stock Exchange and CEO David Schwimmer told reporters last week he sees the exchange business as a "core part" of its strategy. AIM and the wider London Stock Exchange have suffered an exodus in the past two years as a wave of companies have either been taken private or delisted. Last July, Britain's financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, pushed through what it called the biggest overhaul of its listing rules in 30 years in a bid to boost London's appeal as a destination for initial public offerings. A prolonged period of withdrawals from UK-focused equity funds has weighed on valuations. UK funds suffered 9.6 billion pounds ($12.38 billion) of outflows in 2024, marking the ninth consecutive year and the worst on record relative to the wider market, according to funds group Calastone. After a flurry of delistings and deals to take companies private last year, the number of companies listed on AIM slumped below 700 for the first time since 2001, according to accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young. LSEG has been transformed into a data and analytics behemoth by Schwimmer, in part through its $27 billion acquisition of Refinitiv completed in 2021. Shares in LSEG are trading up around 155% since he took over in April 2018, implying a market capitalisation for the company of 57.5 billion pounds, according to LSEG data. Reuters provides news for LSEG's news and data terminal Workspace. The diverging fortunes of LSEG and its exchange have triggered calls from some investors to spin off the exchange business. "A strategic spin-off of LSE and U.S. relisting of LSEG could allow its shares to trade at a much higher multiple, bridging the gap with its U.S. peer, S&P Global," said Stephen Yiu, the chief executive of equity fund Blue Whale, an LSEG shareholder. Tim Cockroft, chair of Singer Capital Markets, an adviser to AIM-listed companies, said his firm would be interested in backing a plan for LSEG to spin off its smaller market, should LSEG be open to the idea. "We are great believers in (the UK smallcap market), and enhanced autonomy and identity could help grow the market segment," Cockroft said. ($1 = 0.7754 pounds)
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Julian Prideaux, National Trust manager who steered the organisation through turbulent times
Julian Prideaux, who has died aged 82, spent nearly all his career at the National Trust, rising to be Deputy Director-General and Secretary from 1997 until his retirement in 2002. More the power behind the throne than star of the show, he oversaw an increasing professionalism in the Trust's management of land during a time of exceptional growth in both membership and property, and steered the Trust calmly through a series of crises. The first catastrophe came in 1989, when Uppark, one of Britain's finest William and Mary houses, high on the Sussex Downs, was gutted by fire. Its restoration was the largest and most complex ever attempted by the Trust, and it was Prideaux, as the Trust's chief agent, who led the recovery, first negotiating with lawyers and insurance brokers (even appearing in the High Court) to secure the funds needed, then working with Peter Pearce, the Trust agent assigned to the project, to harness a vast range of contractors, craftsmen and experts. Scraps of wallpaper were traced to their original manufacturers in France; the main staircase was reconstructed from a single surviving step and riser; freehand plasterwork was recreated in lime plaster strengthened with goat's hair. The Daily Telegraph's Hugh Massingberd feared he would find 'dear old Uppark' feeling like a fake, but 'looking around the subtly faded decoration of such splendid interiors… it is difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between what is new and what is old,' he wrote. 'The hackneyed post-Second-World-War whinge of country-house buffs that 'you simply can't find the craftsmen today' can finally be put to rest.' In 1997 the National Trust banned stag hunting following its commission of the Bateson Report into the welfare of hunted red deer. Though fraught with difficulty, once the decision was made it was Prideaux's responsibility to ensure its implementation, and he worked hard to ensure that it was as fair and practical as possible in the contested circumstances. It came at some personal cost, as he received death threats and had to check his car daily for bombs. By the time foot and mouth broke out in February 2001, Prideaux was Deputy Director-General and Secretary under Fiona Reynolds, who had just replaced Martin Drury as Director-General. As confidence in British meat and farming plummeted, large swathes of the countryside had to be closed. This was immensely difficult to implement, but Prideaux oversaw the closure of most National Trust properties, followed by the equally complex process of reopening them when it was permitted to do so. Prideaux and Reynolds were both very proud to have secured some exemptions for the rare Herdwick sheep flocks of the Lake District – many of them direct descendants of Beatrix Potter's flocks – from slaughter in the contiguous culls. Julian Humphrey Prideaux was born on June 19 1942, the second of four sons of Sir Humphrey Prideaux, soldier and former chairman of Naafi, and his wife Cynthia, née Birch Reynardson. Julian was educated at Eton and the Royal Agricultural College, qualifying as a land agent in 1966. By 1969 he had joined the National Trust as its 'baby agent' (the youngest in post) working for the then chief agent, Ivan Hills. He was soon posted to Cornwall, where he negotiated many 'Neptune' (coastal) acquisitions, and learnt to manage the National Trust/donor family relationship with skill and diplomacy. His next role, in 1978, was to lead the Trust's work in the Northern Home Counties, and he was promoted to Regional Director for the Thames and Chilterns Region in 1983. Almost immediately a ferocious row blew up about the Trust's decision to lease land on the Bradenham estate in Buckinghamshire to the Ministry of Defence for a nuclear defence bunker. Though it led to an Extraordinary General Meeting in a huge marquee in Hyde Park, Prideaux's calm pragmatism quieted the outrage and ensured that the Trust learnt lessons about listening to members. He was promoted to chief agent in 1987. He was famous for remembering everyone's names – including their children and pets – all written down in a small notebook he carried with him. Always impeccably dressed, kind and firm in equal measure, he knew almost every inch of the Trust's extensive – and growing – estate, and took a deep interest in both people and places. He was a trustee of the Chelsea Physic Garden, Dorneywood, the Rural Housing Trust and the National Gardens Scheme. Julian Prideaux married, in 1967, Rosamund (Jilly) Roney Dougal, with whom he had two sons. After happy periods in Cornwall, West Wycombe, then Donhead St Mary, they settled in Coggeshall in Essex, where Prideaux was chairman of the Coggeshall Society and led services in the church of St Peter ad Vincula. Julian Prideaux, born June 19 1942, died February 12 2025 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.
