Beckham’s cannabis relief can’t come soon enough

ASTON MARTIN unveiled plans on Monday for another chunky share sale as the James Bond favourite desperately tries to shore up its balance sheet.

Shareholders, likely to be still nursing their wounds from previous fundraising efforts, will see the value of their stakes fall further.

But it could be another fees bonanza for the groups underwriting the financing.

Buried in the supercar maker’s prospectus for the transaction it is revealed that the banks working on the fundraising – JP Morgan, Barclays, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank – are in line for a 3 per cent commission on the total amount. If Aston manages to get the full £575.8million it is eyeing, the four lenders will be in line for £17.3million to share among themselves.

DAVID Beckham-backed Cellular Goods espoused the virtues of cannabidiol-infused skincare in a white paper last week.

As anyone following wellness trends knows, cannabidiol (CBD) is the non-psychoactive compound in cannabis plants now used in creams, oils and even edible gums for relaxation and pain relief.

But Cellular Goods investors are already aware of its benefits – as the only products it has released so far are skincare-related.

The firm is thought to have attracted the former footballer, who has a 5 per cent stake, because of plans for CBD sports treatments, such as creams athletes and gym bunnies could use to speed up healing.

This was originally due for release in spring 2022, but is now expected next year. Shareholders in the group – whose value has sunk from £20 million to £9 million – might prefer a clearer timeline on research that preaches to an already enthusiastic choir.

GAS explorer Energean delighted the City last week by declaring its maiden dividend sooner than expected.

The 26p payout per share was made possible by the ‘strong cash flows’ generated by parts of the business bought from Italy’s Edison in 2019. This includes a small presence in the North Sea, which the £2.2billion company originally wanted to flog shortly after the deal completed.

Boss Mathios Rigas made it clear at the time he only wanted operations within three hours’ flying time from the firm’s Athens base – ruling out four hours to Britain. But perhaps it was no bad thing that a deal to sell the assets to Britain’s Neptune Energy fell apart in 2019 – and maybe a slightly longer flight isn’t a problem after all?