AJ Bell founder cashes in £41m over 12 months
THE tycoon behind the investment platform AJ Bell has cashed out £23.1m from his company.
Andy Bell, 53, sold 5.5m shares for 420p each, regulatory filings revealed, but remains the largest shareholder by far, with his 24pc stake worth about £418m.
He also sold shares worth £18.1m when AJ Bell floated on the stock exchange a year ago.
The firm manages nearly £40bn on behalf of 198,000 clients who trade shares in companies and funds through its website.
AJ Bell yesterday said it remained ‘fully committed to the business and confident in the outlook’, as shares edged up 0.4pc, or 1.5p, to 425p.
Bell himself said: ‘If I’d been selling a large chunk I think people might be justified in being concerned, but it really is a cashflowdriven sale. It gives me a few quid to go and play with, with other projects I’ve got on the go.’
His sale of shares was in response to ‘strong investor interest’ when other employees sold £ 25.7m worth last week.
The Liverpool-born entrepreneur, who is married with four children, has used his fortune to renovate Moor Hall in West Lancashire, where there is a two Michelin star restaurant, a racecourse and a stable.
Shares in Staffline, the troubled recruitment firm, plunged 23.5pc or 24.9p to 81.1p as it revealed profits for the year would come in well below expectations.
The company, which had to launch an accounting probe this year over claims some clients did not pay the minimum wage, said profits will likely be between £10m and £12m, compared to a September forecast of £20m and last year’s £36m. Debt collector Arrow
Global, however, soared after raising £712m to buy more loans.
It snaps up cut-price debt from institutions like banks and then aims to make a return on its money by collecting repayments.
Arrow said it was a ‘ major achievement’ in its ambition to become a full-blown investment manager, and its shares leapt by 17.6pc, or 39.6p, to 264.4p.
Trainline threatened to derail as Barclays cut its target price on the stock from 490p to 480p.
After the company posted impressive trading performance this week, Barclays said momentum was slowing. Shares dipped 4.3pc, or 22.5p, to 497.5p.
The FTSE 100 managed to maintain its post-election gains for yet another day, climbing 0.2pc, or 15.47 points, to 7540.75.
Weakness in sterling, which has slipped after the ‘Boris bounce’ to around $1.308, helped keep the more internationally focused index on the front foot. The FTSE
250 was almost flat, down 0.1pc, or 27.07 points, to 21,663.13 as Finablr
(down 5.8pc or 10.9p to 176.4p) continued to drag.
The payments company denied it knew of any reason for the decline in its price, which tumbled on Tuesday after NMC Health – a firm also founded by Finablr’s Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty – was subjected to accusations from hedge fund Muddy Waters.
Shares in Royal Mail slipped 1.9pc, or 4.5p, to 238p, after it emerged boss Rico Back bought £702,000 of shares at 234p.
On London’s junior stock market, AIM, RA International, which builds temporary homes in farflung locations for customers involved in projects such as construction and humanitarian aid, jumped 9.2pc, or 3.5p, to 41.5p.
It won a £7m contract to provide construction services at a US embassy in East Africa, and added that it had a strong backlog of contracts, worth £111m.
But Bidstack, which makes ingame adverts for video games, tumbled 35.4pc or 4.25p to 7.75p as it admitted it would not meet its revenue targets due to delays.