. . . as Hargreaves tries to defuse bonus row

FUNd supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown is set to unveil a rise in profits today – as bosses give up their bonuses over the Neil Woodford saga.

The firm, which boasts more than 1m customers, is expected to post an annual profit of £304.8m for the year to June 30, up from £292.4m in 2018.

But in an attempt to recognise customer fury over Woodford’s decision to ban withdrawals from his flagship fund, Hargreaves chief executives are set to give up as much as £3.6m in lucrative bonus payouts.

Hargreaves has been blasted by critics for continuing to promote Woodford’s Equity Income fund on its closely-followed ‘Wealth 50’ best buy list, relied upon by retail investors as a crucial guide, even when performance was poor.

It only pulled support for Woodford, 59, after he stopped customers from withdrawing their cash, a drastic step taken as investors were rushing to the exit.

Chief executive Chris Hill, 48, has since apologised to customers and has called on Woodford to waive the near-£100,000 in management fees he continues to rake in every working day.

In yet another attempted show of contrition, Hill ( pictured) will today reveal he is forgoing a bonus of up to £2.1m he could have received this year.

Finance chief Philip Johnson, who could have received £1.5m, investment chief Lee Gardhouse and research director Mark dampier are expected to follow suit. But the impact of the Woodford crisis on Hargreaves is not expected to be felt in its annual results – the period covered by the financials only stretches to June 30, just a few weeks after Woodford’s fund was shut on June 3.

analysts at Exane BNP Paribas said the fiasco could affect how savers view Hargreaves’ recommendations, potentially hitting the income it earns. In a note to clients, they wrote: ‘Given the Woodford incident, we sense that the power of Hargreaves in directing their clients flows may be somewhat diminished.’ It comes as the crisis at Woodford’s fund rumbles on, with the fund manager still controversially refusing to waive fees for customers. during the closure, he has been selling stocks to free cash so that he can pay back waiting investors. . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY . ORIGINAL COPY ORIGINAL COPY