THG searches Farr for new director as Apollo bid looms

Published

2 years ago

April 23, 2023

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The senior independent director of Britain’s biggest tobacco company is to take the same role at THG, the online retailer behind Cult Beauty, as it holds talks about a bid to take it private.

Sky News understands that THG will announce on Monday that Sue Farr, a former advertising executive, is joining its board.

Ms Farr, who is SID at British American Tobacco and Lookers, the car dealership network, will replace Damian Sanders, who was named THG’s chief financial officer several weeks ago.

She also serves as a director at a number of other publicly traded companies.

Her appointment to the board, the latest in a series orchestrated by chairman Charles Allen, will come amid talks about a fresh attempt to take THG back into private ownership.

City sources said Apollo Global Management was in detailed talks about an offer for the Manchester-based company that would be at a steep premium to its share price before the approach was disclosed but a huge discount to its 500p float price in 2020.

A deadline for Apollo to make a formal bid or walk away from THG falls next month.

Taking THG private would bring an end to more than two-and-a-half unhappy years as a listed business for Matthew Moulding, its founder and chief executive.

Mr Moulding has seen the company’s shares fall calamitously since its IPO, accusing unnamed hedge funds of waging a campaign to undermine it.

Last week, in a post on the professional networking site LinkedIn, he invoked the singer Alanis Morissette’s lyrics, ‘Isn’t it ironic’, as he launched a further tirade about the company’s treatment.

“A recent negative press against THG & me has had dramatically the opposite effect than intended,” he wrote.

“A throwaway line in an otherwise typically wildly inaccurate press piece, resulted in a share price spike and an obligation to make an announcement, culminating in a c.45% increase in the share price on the day. Ouch!”

Mr Moulding’s comments were viewed hundreds of thousands of times, and attracted numerous comments, many of them supportive and claiming to be from retail investors in THG.

One ally of the retailer’s founder said his video message, originally circulated to THG staff at Christmas, “highlighted the challenges associated with being listed on the UK stock market”.

The group operates a large portfolio of websites, owning brands such as the nutrition site MyProtein.

It also has a logistics and fulfilment platform called Ingenuity which works with third parties.

Founded as The Hut Group, the business has made Mr Moulding fabulously wealthy.

Previous talks about potential offers for THG, from a range of parties, stalled over the last 18 months, but many analysts expect the company’s board to recommend a deal – either with Apollo or another bidder – in the near term.

THG’s shares closed on Friday at 89.2p, giving it a market value of £1.16bn.

The talks with Apollo come during a flurry of takeover approaches for London-listed companies including Dechra, Sureserve and John Wood Group.

A THG spokeswoman declined to comment.

Business

Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Published

5 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Four suspects have so far been identified by police investigating possible criminal charges in the Post Office scandal, Sky News has learned.

Sources have said that among the offences being considered are perverting the course of justice and perjury.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software caused accounting errors.

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The Metropolitan Police is a so-called core participant in the Post Office public inquiry and has been monitoring and assessing material submitted.

It is expected that the number of suspects being investigated by police could rise in the next six to 12 months.

More than a million documents are believed to be being sifted through and the number of police officers investigating the scandal has also risen from 80 to 100, with work across every single police force.

It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.

A Sky News source said the number of suspects was seemingly “just a starting point”.

A meeting took place this weekend between more than 150 sub-postmasters, including Sir Alan Bates, and the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Alan said he had been told by officers that “it was going to take a few years” and that there are “no restrictions on how high investigations will take them”.

He also said the priority for sub-postmasters was financial redress and then, after that, victims will be “looking for people to be held to account”.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “Yesterday [17 November] we met with Alan Bates and some of the affected sub-postmasters to provide a brief on our progress and next steps.

“Our investigation team, comprising around 100 officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course.

“Initially four suspects have been identified and we anticipate this number to grow as the investigation progresses.”

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Energy bills to rise again from January but spring falls to come, research firm Cornwall Insight forecasts

Published

12 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Energy bills to rise again from January but spring falls to come, research firm Cornwall Insight forecasts

Energy bills are to rise again next year, according to a respected forecaster.

Costs from January to March are projected to rise another 1% to £1,736 a year for the average user, according to research firm Cornwall Insight.

The energy price cap, which sets a limit on how much companies can charge per unit of electricity, is also expected to rise, costing typical households an extra £19 a year.

It’s a further increase after energy costs rose 10% from October.

After the latest hike, there were hopes of a fall in the new year, but volatile wholesale gas and electricity markets are still above historic average costs.

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Prices have gone up due to supply concerns arising from Russia‘s war in Ukraine, and maintenance of Norwegian gas infrastructure.

But spring is expected to herald a reduction as is October 2025, Cornwall Insight said.

Every three months energy regulator Ofgem revises the cap based on wholesale costs.

The official January price cap announcement will be made on Friday.

It comes as millions of pensioners lost their automatic winter fuel allowance payment after the government means-tested the benefit.

Meanwhile, Cornwall Insight’s principal consultant Dr Craig Lowrey warned “millions” of households won’t heat their homes to “recommended temperatures, risking serious health consequences” with bills on the rise.

“With it being widely accepted that high prices are here to stay, we need to see action,” he said, suggesting options like cheaper rates for low-income homes, benefit restructuring, or other targeted support for the vulnerable “must be seriously considered”.

The energy price cap system is being reviewed by Ofgem with possible changes to the standing charge coming over the next year.

The long-lasting solution to high energy bills is the transition to UK-produced renewable power, the firm said.

“While there will be upfront costs, this shift is essential to building a sustainable and secure energy system for the future.”

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Grangemouth oil refinery owners reject US-led approach as closure looms

Published

13 hours ago

November 18, 2024

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Grangemouth oil refinery owners reject US-led approach as closure looms

The owners of Scotland’s only oil refinery have rejected a US-led approach about a possible bid for it months before its scheduled closure.

Sky News has learnt that a consortium said to be led by Robert McKee, an American energy industry veteran, wrote to Petroineos, the owner of the Grangemouth site, to express an interest in buying it.

The approach, which is understood to have been made earlier this month, was rejected by Petroineos, which is 50%-owned by the petrochemicals empire founded by the Manchester United FC shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

The consortium is understood to comprise The Canal Group, which is reportedly developing a green energy refinery in Texas, and Trading Stack, a Middle East-based commodities trader.

Mr McKee spent nearly four decades with ConocoPhillips, one of the biggest energy companies in the US.

Sources close to the situation said that Petroineos had rebuffed the offer in order to concentrate on a publicly announced plan to transform the century-old plant into a finished fuels import terminal.

They added that the nature of the consortium’s approach had raised questions about its access to financing and expertise in operating an asset of this kind.

The Grangemouth refinery, which employs about 450 people, loses about £200m annually.

Its other shareholder is the state-backed Chinese energy giant PetroChina.

The site is due to close next year.

A person close to the consortium insisted that its financing was robust and said it would assess the feasibility of building a new refinery elsewhere in the area.

They added that the consortium had had “positive interactions” with trade union officials, and believed that there was scope to rapidly make Grangemouth’s refinery operations profitable.

On Monday, a spokesman for Petroineos said: “Since the Petroineos joint venture was formed 13 years ago, our shareholders have invested nearly £1bn in the refinery, only to absorb losses of £600m.

“Last week, the refinery lost £385,000 on average each day and we expect to lose more than £150m in total during the course of this year.

“We have not received any credible or viable bids for the refinery.”

A spokesman for the consortium declined to comment.