BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY KILLING BEEB? TRAINING REGIME THE RAIL WE DEBATE THE TRIP LINKING SWITZERLAND’S FUTURE OF BBC PREMIER SKI RESORTS P24-25 FUNDING P21 MONDAY 21 OCTOBER 2019 ISSUE 3,482 CITYAM.COM FREE RUDDY MESS Top City PR man in FUND ROW: a spin amid People’s Vote turmoil WATCHDOG BITES BACK ANNA MENIN spokesperson for the watchdog told Woodford by surprise, and that the for- City A.M. A Link spokesperson said it mer star stockpicker was preparing to @annafmenin “can’t comment on what is in the make a case for keeping WEIF open, THE FINANCIAL watchdog yesterday FCA’s mind”, adding: “Investor inter- arguing that progress had been made hit back at claims it put pressure on ests are the absolute paramount in reducing illiquid assets. administrators to close Neil Wood- concern for Link”. Link also denied claims, first reported ford’s flagship fund because the scan- WEIF was frozen in June after becom- in the Sunday Times, that it had been dal surrounding its suspension was ing overwhelmed by withdrawal preparing to close WEIF since July. A undermining confidence in the sector. requests, sparking the biggest crisis in spokesperson for the company said the Link Fund Solutions, which was the investment industry for a decade. claims were “completely and categori- responsible for overseeing the suspen- The fund was unable to meet redemp- cally untrue... The decision to close the sion of the £3bn Equity Income Fund tion demands because of its large fund was taken in the immediate run- (WEIF), announced on Tuesday the proportion of illiquid holdings. up to the announcement.” JAMES WARRINGTON The decision comes after the PR fund would be liquidated, triggering FCA head Andrew Bailey accused Link declined to comment on reports man, who made tens of millions after the collapse of Woodford’s investment WEIF in July of “following the letter, that its managing director Karl Midl @j_a_warrington selling Finsbury to WPP in 2001, empire later that day. The Financial but not the spirit” of the rules govern- had made inquiries about appointing CITY PUBLIC relations tycoon Roland faced an apparent coup led by Peter Conduct Authority (FCA) has dismissed ing liquidity. Blackrock to liquidate WEIF’s large-cap Rudd is set to quit his top role in the Mandelson and Alistair Campbell. claims it had pressured Link to shut As the authorised corporate director holdings in July, however said it would People’s Vote campaign as the anti- Private emails seen by the Mail on down WEIF as “categorically untrue”. of the fund, Link had been tasked with be “remiss” not to have “contingency Brexit movement is rocked by a fierce Sunday revealed how the two Blair- The Sunday Times reported Link had repositioning the fund’s portfolio, but planning going on at every stage of boardroom battle. era veterans orchestrated a plot to come under increasing pressure from said on Tuesday that it had been un- this process”. Blackrock was appointed Rudd, founder and chairman of bring down the chairman. the FCA to close the stricken fund as able to sell enough of the illiquid and by Link to sell off WEIF’s listed assets financial PR firm Finsbury, is In one email, Campbell said a the scandal was denting confidence in unquoted assets to allow WEIF to last week. reportedly set to resign as chairman public battle with Rudd “should the fund management industry. reopen in December as planned. Woodford declined to comment. of Open Britain, one of the key happen soon and be fast and brutal”. “There was no pressure from the FCA City A.M. understands that Link’s organisations behind the People’s put on Link to wind down the fund,” a decision to shut down the fund took £ INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE: P17 Vote campaign. £ CONTINUES ON P4 Private equity swooping on listed firms in ‘underperforming’ market ANNA MENIN The total valuation of deals valuations on the UK’s relatively private equity firm Blackstone, and were not more deals occurring, taking UK-listed firms off the stock underperforming stock market was the Canada Pension Plan with only eight such tie-ups over @annafmenin market more than trebled in helping to make listed UK firms Investment Board. Meanwhile the the past 12 months. THE VALUE of private equity (PE) 2018/19 to £14bn, according to more attractive to PE funds. government intervened in the £4bn “Considering the attractive deals taking UK-listed companies research published today by There has been a string of high- takeover of defence giant Cobham valuation of so many UK listed private has more than trebled over accountancy firm BDO. profile so-called take private deals by US private equity firm Advent companies combined with the the past year, as the valuation The figure represents a 278 per targeting UK firms in recent International last month on the scarcity of high-quality private premium of listed companies cent increase on the previous year’s months, including the £4.8bn grounds of national security. assets for sale in the market, there compared to private firms total of £3.7bn. takeover of Merlin entertainments BDO’s private equity head Jamie ought to be more take private narrowed. The beancounter said depressed by the Danish owners of Lego, Austin said it was surprising there transactions,” Austin said. FTSE 100 ▼7,150.57 -31.75 FTSE 250 ▲20,228.53 +7.42 DOW ▼26,770.20 -255.68 NASDAQ ▼8,089.54 -67.31 £/$ ▲ 1.299 +0.010 £/€ ▲ 1.160 +0.002 €/$ ▲ 1.117 +0.002 CITYAM.COM MONDAY 21 OCTOBER 2019 NEWS 03 HOLY DAVIDSON Gold-plated Harley Davidson motorbike signed by Pope Francis sells for more than £40,000 at Bonhams auction THE CITY VIEW Anti-Brexit MPs keep moving the goalposts HIS was supposed to be the week in which the UK finally staggered out of the Brexit-related darkness and began to Tconsider the future – having spent three and a half years arguing about the past. Boris Johnson, against the odds, renegotiated the Brexit withdrawal agreement and was on the cusp on winning parliamentary approval for it, a feat which three times eluded his predecessor. True, it had come at a cost (losing the support of the DUP) but Conservative MPs and a small band of Labour rebels were prepared to recognise that the deal on the table was the only viable way to deliver on the 2016 referendum result. The deal was described as “admirable” by Sir Oliver Letwin who declared that he will be supporting it — just not yet. His amendment, which prevents the Commons from endorsing the deal until all associated legislation is completed, A GOLD-PLATED Harley Davidson motorbike signed by Pope Francis sold for £42,000 at Bonhams auction house in Stafford allowed every single anti-Brexit MP (and there are a lot) to yesterday. The proceeds of the sale will go towards the construction of an orphanage and school in Uganda, the BBC reported. regroup and plot the unpicking of the withdrawal agreement. The bike, known as the White Unique, was slightly undersold as it had been expected to fetch between £50,000 and £100,000. Lib Dem MP Layla Moran and the Green party’s Caroline Lucas posed for a beaming Commons selfie and tweeted: “We have won the Letwin amendment! The fight for the People’s Vote to stop Brexit continues!” And so, with the time granted to them by Letwin, MPs will line up this week to push for a confirmatory referendum as well as permanent membership of the EU Government digs in on a Customs Union. Johnson’s critics in parliament claimed he didn’t want a deal — indeed, that no-deal was his preference. Having confounded them, these same MPs are now set to demand membership of the Customs Union. This is becoming intolerable. Despite Mark Carney describing Johnson’s new deal second Brexit deal vote as “a net economic positive” and despite the fact that, as the UK’s STEFAN BOSCIA former EU commissioner for financial services Lord Hill put it through. Gove, the cabinet minister in the government tried to table a mean- @Stefan_Boscia charge of no-deal preparations, told ingful vote, as it would invalidate the yesterday, the EU is in no mood to prolong this process, MPs will Sky News yesterday the government Letwin amendment vote. continue to try and prevent the UK’s departure from the EU. In MICHAEL Gove has guaranteed the UK has “the means and the ability to If a meaningful vote is not allowed, doing so they are testing the patience of the public and the will leave the EU on 31 October, [leave on 31 October]”. When asked if the government will have to wait despite Boris Johnson’s letter to Brus- the government had the numbers to until Tuesday to bring forward a sec- business community as yet more uncertainty becomes the price sels asking for a delay. pass the vote, he said: “I believe we do.” ond reading of the Withdrawal Agree- paid for parliamentary chicanery and political intransigence. The Prime Minister was forced to Foreign secretary Dominic Raab told ment Bill. If an initial vote on the bill The government, which currently operates without the benefit send the letter – which he did not the BBC that “we seem to have the is passed, MPs can then add amend- of a working majority, will still try to push through the sign – on Saturday after parliament numbers in the House of Commons”. ments to the withdrawal agreement. voted to delay approving his Brexit However, potential plans to hold a Shadow Brexit secretary Keir legislation by 31 October, thus complying with the Letwin deal.