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08 NEWS TUESDAY 4 APRIL 2017 Government edges closer to Lloyds Bank exit REBECCA SMITH @BexKSmith THE GOVERNMENT has announced its remaining stake in Lloyds Banking Group is now under two per cent. The taxpayers’ shareholding in the bank is now at 1.97 per cent. Until recently, the government had been Lloyds’ largest shareholder. It had previously been reported the state could be rid of its entire holding by spring this year, after the government announced its holding was below the five per cent threshold at the beginning of 2017. The government originally took a 43 per cent share when it bailed out the bank for £20.5bn, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Now, the government said it has nearly recovered all of the money taxpayers injected into the bank during the financial crisis, once share sales and dividends received are accounted for. The economic secretary to the Treasury, Simon Kirby, said: “I welcome this further progress in returning Lloyds to the private sector. “We have now recovered over £20bn for the taxpayer and are very close to recovering all of the money taxpayers injected into the bank during the financial crisis.” The Lloyds trading plan, selling shares in the market over time, initially ran from 17 December 2014 to 30 June 2016. The government then announced in October last year that further sales of Lloyds’ shares would also be made through a trading plan. In January, the government passed the significant milestone of announcing it was no longer Lloyds’ biggest shareholder, making progress with the aim to return it to the private sector. Lloyds announced its first major acquisition since its bailout in December, saying it would buy credit card business MBNA for £1.9bn. New, exciting products drive growth in the market, said chief exec Phil Popham Yacht maker Sunseeker sails to profit after a ‘defining’ year COURTNEY GOLDSMITH @courtneynoelg AFTER swinging back to profit in a “remarkable turnaround”, luxury yacht maker Sunseeker has set its sights on future growth. Britain’s biggest boat builder yesterday reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of £6m for the year to the end of December, compared with a loss of £7m in 2015. Sunseeker said revenue increased 25 per cent to £252.4m due to “incredible” response to new models. The group will invest a further £50m across the business to support a bold product plan with many more new introductions over the next few years. CITYAM.COM Ex-PM adviser goes Public with tech firm LYNSEY BARBER @lynseybarber A FORMER top adviser to David Cameron has launched a new venture designed to help startups work with government to improve technology in the public sector. Daniel Korski, who left Number 10 after the Brexit vote, has backing from high-profile names in the tech industry for the venture, called Public, with venture capital investor and son of the heir to the Heineken fortune Alexander De Carvalho. Investors include venture capitalists Robin and Saul Klein, private equity boss Jon Moulton, LV chairman Mark Austen and Passion Capital partner Stefan Glaenzer. Public will combine different aspects of the venture funding and tech accelerator model to help startups navigate wanting to work with government. “Why shouldn’t the UK be at the forefront of delivering those services? There’s an opportunity now [with the Brexit vote] rarely afforded to a fully functioning Western democracy to rethink the entire under wiring of the state,” Korski told City A.M. DON’T LET THIS YEAR’S ISA ALLOWANCE GET AWAY. LET’STALKHOW. 1 Secure it in Cash Park now, choose funds daylater. left Issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Fidelity, Fidelity International, the Fidelity International logo and F symbol are trademarks of FIL Limited.
CITYAM.COM TUESDAY 4 APRIL 2017 NEWS 09 Talk of deadline extension hits Toshiba’s shares COURTNEY GOLDSMITH @courtneynoelg SHARES in troubled Japanese conglomerate Toshiba fell more than nine per cent yesterday during trading, after sources warned it is expected to miss a third results deadline. The firm’s stock closed 5.47 per cent lower as sources told Reuters Toshiba’s auditor, PwC, has questions about its financial results for the business year through March 2016. Toshiba was originally meant to file its quarterly earnings for the period from October to December in February. It has twice received approval to extend the deadline. In March, the group said it needed more time to investigate an “alleged occurrence of inappropriate pressures by certain senior managers” surrounding the purchase of CB&I Stone & Webster, a nuclear construction company, by its US unit, Westinghouse. Westinghouse filed for bankruptcy protection last week after incurring £5bn in impairment charges at US nuclear new builds. The writedowns could push Toshiba’s net loss for the year to ¥1 trillion (£7.2bn) compared with a previous estimate of ¥390bn, the company warned. A Toshiba spokesman told Reuters the possible postponement was not something the company had announced and that it was preparing to make the earnings announcement by 11 April. The group has been threatened with a delisting from the Tokyo Stock Exchange if it misses a deadline. Last week, the firm’s shareholders approved plans to split off the company’s prized flash memory chip business to cover Westinghouse’s losses. Angry investors lashed out at chief executive Satoshi Tsunakawa and others, with one calling Toshiba a “laughing stock around the world”. The FTSE 250 security company’s shares jumped last month on strong results G4S pushes transformation plan with sale of US prison contract COURTNEY GOLDSMITH @courtneynoelg GLOBAL security firm G4S yesterday sold its US youth detention centres for $56.5m (£45.1m) in cash, with proceeds earmarked for “corporate purposes”. The UK-based company sold its youth services unit, which operates in Florida, Texas and Tennessee, to BHSB, a US health care services company. Chief executive Ashley Almanza said the sale is part of a portfolio management programme started in 2013 to improve the company’s strategic, commercial and operational focus. In the year to the end of December, G4S’ youth services unit reported pretax profit of $5.1m. Apax Partners bags Israeli firm for $397m TOVA COHEN BRITISH private equity firm Apax Partners has agreed to buy Israel’s Syneron Medical, a non-surgical aesthetic device company, for $11 per share in cash, or a total of $397m (£317.52m), the companies said yesterday. The share price represents a 15 per cent premium to Syneron’s 90- day average closing price through 31 March, and a 33 per cent premium to its 90-day average closing price through 10 February, the last trading day prior to media speculation of a transaction. Syneron says its products have a range of applications, like body contouring, hair removal and wrinkle reduction. The products are sold under two brands, Syneron and Candela. “We have identified the medical aesthetics market as a highly attractive investment area given its long-term growth prospects,” said Apax’s Steven Dyson. The agreement includes a “goshop” period which ends on 9 May, in which Syneron Candela will solicit and possibly enter into negotiations over alternative proposals from third parties. Reuters If you want to make the most of your £15,240 ISA allowance before the 5 April deadline, but don’t have time to choose funds, turn to our ISA Cash Park. It lets you hold some or all of this year’s ISA allowance in cash, so you can decide which funds to invest in later. When you’re ready, our award-winning guidance can help you make your choice. It offers helpful guides, online tools and fund recommendations, as well as regular market insights. Secure your ISA allowance today. Apply online at fidelity.co.uk or call us on 0800 368 1721. Please remember that the value of investments can go down as well as up, so you may not get back the amount you invest. The value of tax savings and eligibility to invest in an ISA depend on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. Fidelity’s guidance service is not a personal recommendation. UKM0317/19206/SSO/0417
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