The Times - UK (2022-06-13)

the times | Monday June 13 2022 V2 41

Business

Neil Woodford was

pictured this month

on the beach at

Salcombe, the

Devon resort where

he and his wife

Madelaine have a

home. The couple

have a passion for

eventing and have

competed on their

horse Willows

Spunky, insert

The Times a director of the manage-
ment company behind the property
said the name WCM Partners “doesn’t
ring a bell with me”.
There have been glimpses into
Woodford’s multimillion-pound life-
style. This month he was photographed
relaxing in Salcombe, the south Devon
town nicknamed “Chelsea-on-Sea”
where he and his wife Madelaine
bought a house and land for £6.45 mil-
lion in 2017. Local planning records
indicate that the Woodfords have done
significant work to the property.
They also previously owned an estate
in the Cotswolds, which was sold for
£26 million in November 2020. This
home had extensive stables to accom-
modate the couple’s passion for event-

ing, which they continue to pursue.

According to results on the website of

British Eventing, the sport’s governing

body, Madelaine Woodford has com-

peted three times this year on their

horse Willows Spunky, including twice

last month. Her husband rode the horse

at events last October and September.

Little is known of the work he has

carried out for Acacia, though Clifford

Press, the American group’s boss,

speaks highly of him. Press said last

year that “when I met Neil I knew I was

standing in the presence of a truly

exceptional investment manager”.

Acacia bought a portfolio of 19 stakes

in public and private biotechnology

companies from the Woodford Equity

Income Fund two years ago as part of

its wind-up. The deal quickly proved

lucrative, with Acacia almost imme-

diately selling some of the holdings for

a profit. An American regulatory filing

by Acacia last month showed that so far

it had raised $394 million in proceeds

from disposals from the portfolio,

which it acquired for $294 million. The

remaining investments had a book

value of $163.7 million. Woodford is

understood to have worked with Acacia

to secure these gains, partly by helping

the group to establish relationships

with management teams of the busi-

nesses in the portfolio.

The assets bought by Acacia were

central to the comeback plan unveiled

by WCM Partners last year, when it

said the assets would “form the corner-

stone of a new strategy to rebuild the

Woodford investment operation”.

Unlike Woodford’s previous failed busi-

ness, which attracted retail money,

WCM Partners planned to focus on

institutional and high-net-worth inves-

tors, although its progress in finding

backers is unknown.

Nevertheless, the success of the work

Woodford has undertaken behind the

scenes with Acacia has emboldened the

American group to consider a wider

collaboration with him.

Any potential further ventures

between the two are likely to be over-

shadowed by the continuing fallout

from the collapse of Woodford’s previ-

ous business. About £2.54 billion has

been returned to investors through the

wind up of the stricken Equity Income

Fund, but the process of selling off

Woodford’s investments is not com-

plete. Link, which is handling the fund’s

closure, said in March that it continued

to own some illiquid shareholdings.

These were valued at £140.9 million at

the end of February, although Link said

that this might “materially change” and

could fall. Indeed, the residual invest-

ments included Rutherford, which has

now collapsed.

There are also legal challenges. This

month Harcus Parker, the law firm,

filed a claim against Link on behalf of

about 1,500 Equity Income investors

seeking at least £18 million. The claim,

which is not against Woodford nor his

company, alleges that Link breached its

duty to investors in its oversight of the

fund. Leigh Day, another law firm, has

brought a claim against Link on behalf

of thousands of the fund’s investors.

Then there is an investigation by the

Financial Conduct Authority. This

inquiry, which was started three years

ago, is examining the circumstances

that led to the suspension of the Equity

Income Fund. It could result in enforce-

ment action. The FCA: “It is vital we

investigate thoroughly and that is what

we are doing. We continue to make

progress on the case and will provide an

update when we are able.”

Business briefing

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Stock markets

across the world

remain volatile

following Russia’s

invasion of

Ukraine.

Oil and gas prices

have been

spiralling, while

British companies

are scrambling to

cope with the effects of soaring costs. With

the situation changing by the hour, keeping

up to date is essential. Get the latest news

and market reaction by 8am, and analysis at

12.30pm, direct by email from the Business

Editor, Richard Fletcher, and the Business

News Editor, Martyn Strydom

APEX NEWS; ULTIMATE IMAGES

Canary Wharf boosts its science ambitions

Genomics England is to move its
headquarters to Canary Wharf in
east London this year as the financial
quarter aims to become a life sciences
hub.
The government-run DNA sequen-
cing group will move in the autumn
into One Canada Place, where its
neighbours will include Brookfield, a
Canadian property fund, and Reach,
publisher of the Daily Express and OK!
magazine.
Owned by the Department of Health
and Social Care, Genomics England
sequences the genomes of people with
rare diseases and cancers to help
doctors to treat them more effectively.
With consent, some of that data is
passed to researchers trying to develop
new drugs and treatments.
Employing 200 people in London, it
has been based in three offices at
Queen Mary University’s Charter-

house Square campus in Farringdon in

the centre of the capital. Chris Wigley,

Genomics England’s chief executive,

had been looking to move into a single

space a couple of years ago, but shelved

plans during the pandemic.

The group opted for Canary Wharf

because of its proximity to its old base

and to NHS divisions with which it

works closely, such as NHS Digital.

“We have lots of interaction with the

Department of Health and Social Care,

the Cabinet Office, the Treasury and so

on, all of whom are in Whitehall, which,

even before the Elizabeth line, was very

easy from Canary Wharf on the Jubilee

line,” Wigley said. “We also work

closely with Bart’s Hospital, which is

both in Farringdon and Whitechapel,

which are, respectively, one stop and

two stops away.”

Shobi Khan, chief executive of

Canary Wharf, said he was “thrilled”

that Genomics England had decided to

move to the district. He has been trying

to reposition the area as a centre not

only for financial services but also for

technology and life sciences firms. This

spring, he unveiled plans to build

Europe’s largest commercial laboratory

on eight acres of land at a cost said to be

more than £500 million.

“The whole point is creating an

environment where we can attract

companies that are growing,” he said.

“Healthcare and life sciences are great

industries, but so is tech and new media.

We want to attract those kinds of

tenants.” The first buildings at Canary

Wharf, as it looks today, opened in 1991,

and Khan has opened more bars and

restaurants, as well as hundreds of flats

and a new school.

The opening of the Elizabeth line last

month had been a “game-changer”,

Khan said, with people arriving at

Heathrow able to get to Canary Wharf

in 40 minutes. Wrigley said it would

have been a “more difficult decision” to

move had it not been for the line.

Tom Howard

Canary Wharf is

trying to reinvent

itself as a life

sciences hub as

well as a global

financial centre

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