10 The Sunday Times April 3, 2022
BUSINESS
HANG SENG
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27,665.98
V483.86H:30,795.8
V1.72% L:24,681.7FTSE EUROFIRST
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U18.15 H:1,917.4
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59,276.69
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7,785.90
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U1.25% L:7,064.2S&P TSX
21,952.95
V52.99 H:22,031.7
V0.24% L:14,783.9The pandemic puppies are
coming of age. Parks are full
of toddler cockapoos and
labradors, tangled leads in
the grip of well-remunerated
dog walkers. I can only
lament the lack of a listed
doggy day-care provider to
invest in.
But more pets —
three million households
have bought one since the
start of the pandemic— mean
more vets’ bills, and more
vets’ bills spark interest in
Dechra Pharmaceuticals.
The company, whose
products include Amoxicillin
dog antibiotics and best-
selling Vetoryl, used to treat
dogs with hormonal
problems, has already
received its pandemic bonus:
it nuzzled its way into the
FTSE 100 in December. Since
then, however, the shares
have lost almost 20 per cent
of their value as part of a vetLUCY TOBIN THE ECONOMY
THE TIPSTER
FTSE 1008,0006,5007,0002021 2022
Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon7, 5 0 0THE WEEK IN THE MARKETS
sector sell-off and general
market woes.
Yet Dechra has a strong
history of R&D and is on an
upward trend: revenues in
the last six months of 2021
rose by 16 per cent (when
stripping out exchange rate
movements) to £332 million.
Turnover increased by 10 per
cent in Europe and 26 per
cent in north America, and
the City has pencilled in
revenues of £656 million for
this year.
“Vet pharma stocks
enjoyed a good run during
lockdown as people acquired
new pets and spent more
time with the ones they had,”
said Mike Mitchell at
Panmure Gordon. “Support
has since ebbed away a bit —
but pets last for a while.”
A pet is indeed for life, not
just for a pandemic (and
ageing pets tend to requiremore pills). But Dechra is also
set to benefit from the
growing global population’s
rising demands for food.
While three quarters of its
business is devoted to pet
medicines, 12 per cent of
revenues come from drugs
for farm animals, 7 per cent
from horse medication and
the rest from specialist-diet
pet food: diversity that should
help the firm stave off some of
the pain of cheaper animal
drugs being sold online. “We
might now see more
normalised rates of growth at
Dechra, but it’s from a higher
base. Its sell-off was
unjustified,” Mitchell says.
Dechra is known in the
industry for being well run —
chief executive Ian Page has
been at the helm for more
than 20 years — as well as
having enough heft to snap
up new products. In January
it bought Verdinexor, a
treatment for canine
lymphoma which already has
conditional approval from
the US Food and Drug
Administration. That came
soon after deals for equine
and anaesthetic medicines.
Dechra stock has fallen in
price, but its own stock is
growing in importance for
vets and farmers. Buy.Make
Dechra
your next
pet project
Dechra Pharma£50403020
2020 2021 22
Source: Thomson Reuters Eikonvariation 12 months
high low
UK 1.55 V0.15 1.71 0.51US 1.93 V0.56 2.49 1.17JAPAN -0.01 V0.17 0.25 0.00GERMANY 0.29 V0.28 0.66 -0.5010-YEAR BOND YIELDS %
DOLLAR
USD > GBP$1.31
V0.01
12-month high: $1.42
low: $1.30EURO
EUR > GBP€1.19
V0.01
12-month high: €1.21
low: €1.15
YEN
YEN > USD¥122.49
U0.43
12-month high: ¥123.91
low: ¥107.91
OIL
DOLLARS/BARREL$104.59
V16.06
12-month high: $127.98
low: $62.15
GOLD
DOLLARS/TROY OZ$1,923.40
V34.00
12-month high: $2,052.41
low: $1,726.11BITCOIN
DOLLARS$46,163.67
U1,593.76
12-month high: $68,789.62
low: $28,893.62
Price at 10pm FridayFTSE 100
7,537.90
U54.55 H: 7,687.3
U0.73% L: 6,737.3FTSE 250
21,218.01
U261.80 H: 24,353.9
U1.25% L: 18,508.3RISERS
Brewin Dolphin: 512p, U 64.1% takeover
by RBC Trainline: 257.1p, U 29.2% relief
on ticket prices Ferrexpo: 193.5p,
U 17.7% on sentiment Bridgepoint:
365p, U 16.4% on upbeat results
AJ Bell/SharepadFALLERS
Barclays: 147p, V 12.1% on
securitisation blunder Rolls-Royce:
99.4p, V 9.8% bid speculation fades
CMC Markets: 253.5p, V 9.1% on
sentiment Royal Mail: 328.5p, V 8.8%
looming strike by staffConsumer prices index current rate prev. month
6.2% 5.5%
CPI including housing current rate prev. month
5.5% 4.9%
Retail prices index current rate prev. month
8.2% 7.8%
Average weekly earnings on prev. monthon last year
£596 V 0.7% U4.9%
Unemployment current rate prev. month
1.34m 3.9% 4.1%
Manufacturing output on the year on last month
U3.6% U0.7%
Retail sales on the year on last month
U 0.7% V 0.3%
UK trade
balance (£bn)latest 3 mths prev. 3 mths latest 12 mths
-21.08 -12.74 -41.16
Gross domestic
productlatest quarter prev. quarterannual change
U1.3% U0.9% U6.6%
Budget deficit
(PSNB) in £bnlast month prev. month year to date
V 13.1 U 7.1 V138.454 Rolls-Royce 99.4 -10.8 147.5 87.0 0.0 67.7 8.3
146 Rotork 321.4 -10.2 373.4 285.2 2.0 34.9 2.8
128 Royal Mail 328.5 -31.6 606.4 328.5 5.1 3.8 3.1
199 S4 Capital 321.0 -118.0 870.0 289.0 0.0 N.A 1.8
143 Safestore 1340.0 +34.0 1418.0 800.5 1.5 7.6 2.8
62 Sage 717.8+27.8 853.8 622.4 2.5 27.4 7.3
53 Schroders 3222.0 +100.0 3871.0 2817.0 3.8 14.6 8.4
38 Scottish Mortgage IT 1022.5+32.9 1543.5 834.6 0.3 2.7 14.8
33 Segro 1351.0 +33.5 1436.5 948.6 1.5 4.0 16.2
196 Sequoia Economic Infra IF 102.6 +6.6 114.6 96.0 6.1 11.5 1.8
58 Severn Trent 3072.0 +137.0 3078.0 2307.0 3.3 N.A 7.7
165 Shaftesbury 612.0 +2.0 662.0 547.5 0.9 N.A 2.4
1 Shell 2119.5 +9.0 2119.5 1339.0 3.2 10.8 160.1
43 Smith & Nephew 1214.0 -11.01592.51179.0 2.4 26.7 10.6
78 Smiths 1434.5-43.0 1661.0 1355.5 2.7 22.8 5.5
139 Smithson Investment Trust 1616.0 +32.0 2025.0 1398.0 0.0 5.2 2.9
118 Softcat 1691.0 -2.0 2240.0 1445.0 1.3 33.1 3.4
145 Spectris 2531.0-60.0 4083.0 2458.0 2.8 8.3 2.8
49 Spirax-Sarco Engineering 12700.0+440.0 17135.0 10985.0 1.1 40.0 9.3
28 SSE 1732.5+57.5 1750.5 1434.5 4.7 6.9 18.5
198 SSP 226.9 -7.1 392.4 214.3 0.0 N.A 1.8
57 St James's Place 1429.0 -18.0 1731.5 1180.0 3.6 27.2 7.7
36 Standard Chartered 509.8 +5.2 580.8 410.0 1.8 11.2 15.4
117 Tate & Lyle 729.8 +11.8 815.8 629.4 4.2 83.6 3.4
91 Taylor Wimpey 131.3 -1.1 191.7 127.9 6.5 8.6 4.8
190 Templeton Emerging Markets IT 155.6 +4.2 1040.0 140.6 2.4 1.5 1.8
26 Tesco 279.0 +3.3 303.4 219.7 3.3 18.6 21.3
149 Travis Perkins 1255.5 -20.5 1830.0 1222.0 3.0 12.1 2.7
98 Tritax Big Box Reit 244.0 +4.0 249.0 181.0 2.2 4.5 4.6
164 Ultra Electronics 3324.0 -16.0 3370.0 2002.0 0.5 35.5 2.4
5 Unilever 3508.0 +121.5 4360.0 3328.0 4.1 18.0 89.9
94 Unite 1163.0 +21.5 1237.0 990.2 1.1 13.6 4.6
60 United Utilities 1122.0 +56.5 1130.0 928.4 3.9 102.7 7.7
158 Virgin Money UK 174.1 -4.3 218.1 160.3 0.6 6.4 2.5
174 Vistry 944.0 +13.01346.5 929.6 6.4 8.3 2.1
16 Vodafone 126.4 +1.1 142.4 106.9 5.9 N.A 35.8
147 Watches of Switzerland 1141.0 +15.0 1518.0 662.0 0.0 37.2 2.7
103 Weir 1684.5 -51.5 2005.0 1429.0 1.4 28.4 4.4
184 WH Smith 1436.5 -20.5 1902.5 1311.0 0.0 N.A 1.9
73 Whitbread 2873.0 +108.0 3545.0 2436.0 0.0 N.A 5.8
88 Wise 499.0 -4.8 1150.0 442.5 N.A 225.1 5.1
137 Wizz Air 2863.0 +311.0 5398.0 2496.0 0.0 N.A 3.0
172 Worldwide Healthcare Trust 3245.0 +120.0 3910.0 2960.0 0.7 16.1 2.1
41 WPP 1006.0 -33.5 1224.0 909.8 3.1 19.2 11.287 Investec 512.0 +24.4 512.0 222.1 3.6 12.9 5.2
170 ITM Power 353.3 +8.7 536.0 228.0 0.0 N.A 2.2
120 ITV 82.4 +1.0 132.5 73.4 4.0 8.8 3.3
151 IWG 263.3 +8.3 380.0 232.4 0.0 N.A 2.7
72 J Sainsbury 248.9 -10.9 340.0 235.0 4.3 21.0 5.8
56 JD Sports Fashion 150.8 +0.6 1170.0 131.6 0.2 18.2 7.8
159 Jet2 1135.5 +33.5 1564.5 938.6 0.0 N.A 2.4
115 Johnson Matthey 1877.0 +44.0 3300.0 1721.0 3.8 23.7 3.5
182 Keywords Studios 2558.0 +292.0 3302.0 1952.0 0.1 70.5 2.0
85 Kingfisher 258.1 -6.2 376.4 255.4 4.8 6.5 5.3
75 Land Securities 777.0 -7.0 813.2 653.2 3.1 N.A 5.8
34 Legal & General 271.2 +3.7 307.8 238.9 6.8 8.3 16.2
17 Lloyds Banking Group 47.4 -1.4 55.1 41.3 4.2 6.4 33.2
15 London Stock Exchange 8084.0 +256.0 8282.0 6370.0 1.2 83.5 41.4
148 Londonmetric Property 275.4 +3.6 285.2 216.0 2.6 5.9 2.7
74 M&G 222.6 -1.4 248.6 178.3 8.2 73.7 5.8
125 Man 236.2 +12.4 242.5 159.5 4.5 9.2 3.2
131 Marks and Spencer 158.0 +2.7 256.9 131.6 0.0 124.8 3.1
150 Mediclinic International 360.2 +13.6 366.4 275.8 0.0 22.5 2.7
69 Meggitt 762.4 -1.0 839.2 397.0 0.0 190.7 6.0
80 Melrose Industries 124.4 -0.1 190.8 109.4 1.4 N.A 5.4
63 Mondi 1504.5 +3.5 2068.0 1309.0 3.6 11.5 7.3
154 Monks Investment Trust 1116.0 +46.0 1472.0 980.0 0.2 3.4 2.6
14 National Grid 1163.0 +36.4 1172.4 863.5 4.2 29.3 42.4
187 Nationwide Building Society 175.5 +0.0 191.0 164.0 0.0 N.A 1.9
23 NatWest 217.9 -2.6 253.5 189.3 4.8 9.5 23.1
55 Next 6108.0 -174.0 8426.0 5770.0 2.1 11.7 8.1
162 Ninety One 257.2 +7.2 277.4 219.2 5.3 12.8 2.4
51 Ocado 1180.5 +103.5 2236.0 1077.0 0.0 N.A 8.9
156 OSB 568.0 +2.5 576.0 418.8 4.6 7.6 2.5
122 Oxford Nanopore Tech 394.0 -11.0 716.0 369.0 0.0 N.A 3.2
77 Pearson 741.0 -45.4 869.4 571.8 2.8 35.5 5.6
142 Pennon 1070.0 +47.0 1321.0 981.2 3.2 87.0 2.8
65 Persimmon 2148.0 +52.0 3238.0 2093.0 10.9 8.7 6.9
192 Personal Assets Trust 50300.0+200.050900.045250.0 1.1 9.0 1.8
138 Petershill Partners 254.0 +15.5 352.0 194.8 N.A N.A 2.9
195 Pets at Home 363.2 -25.8 519.0 347.2 2.7 14.9 1.8
67 Phoenix 619.8 -8.8 759.8 581.8 7.9 N.A 6.2
191 Playtech 596.0 -23.5 770.0 351.0 0.0 3.2 1.8
136 Polar Capital Tech Trust 2235.0 +1.0 2750.0 2010.0 0.0 3.8 3.0
180 Primary Health Properties 148.9 -0.1 169.6 131.1 3.3 15.2 2.0
18 Prudential 1120.5 +55.0 1585.5 1000.0 1.2 17.5 30.8
166 Quilter 143.4 +5.7 168.9 114.6 3.9 105.9 2.3
13 Reckitt Benckiser 6010.0 +560.0 6801.0 5391.0 2.9 N.A 43.0
193 Redrow 517.0 -3.4 718.8 517.0 5.5 6.4 1.8
12 Relx 2365.0 +60.0 2424.01813.0 2.1 31.2 45.7
119 Renewables Infrastructure 135.2 +2.0 139.4 120.6 5.0 13.9 3.4
141 Renishaw 3904.0 -58.0 6565.0 3768.0 1.7 22.3 2.8
45 Rentokil Initial 521.0 -5.4 636.2 444.5 1.2 36.9 9.7
81 Rightmove 635.0 -14.0 800.4 569.2 1.2 29.8 5.4
4 Rio Tinto 6225.0 +300.0 6658.0 4375.5 9.7 6.3 103.2
107 RIT Capital Partners 2550.0 +30.0 2765.0 2330.0 1.4 4.7 4.0108 Direct Line Insurance 275.5 +1.9 322.3 250.9 8.2 11.4 3.7
161 Dr Martens 238.2 -1.6 503.5 217.6 0.5 43.6 2.4
130 Drax 775.5 +5.0 786.0 393.8 2.4 60.1 3.1
102 DS Smith 320.0 -0.7 462.3 295.7 4.0 18.2 4.4
169 Dunelm 1077.0 -28.0 1551.0 1036.0 2.1 14.5 2.2
105 Easyjet 555.0 +38.6 1095.0 439.5 0.0 N.A 4.2
89 Electrocomponents 1048.0 -3.0 1255.0 868.0 1.5 26.7 4.9
167 Energean 1244.0 +44.01244.0 620.0 0.0 N.A 2.2
46 Entain 1652.0 -14.02377.0 1392.5 0.0 36.9 9.7
20 Experian 2911.0-54.0 3667.0 2533.0 1.3 36.4 26.8
99 F&C Investment Trust 863.0 +15.0 946.0 779.0 1.5 5.0 4.5
25 Ferguson 10180.0-295.0 13305.0 8946.0 1.9 14.9 22.1
175 Fevertree Drinks 1785.0 +28.0 2812.01513.0 0.9 46.8 2.1
189 Finsbury Growth & Inc Tr 825.0 +3.0 930.0 756.0 2.1 9.4 1.8
37 Flutter Entertainment 8746.0 +4.0 15890.0 8000.0 0.0 N.A 15.4
123 Frasers 656.0 -16.5 813.5 480.4 0.0 N.A 3.2
79 Fresnillo 743.4 +2.0 986.8 622.4 3.5 17.1 5.5
127 Future 2604.0 +22.0 3910.0 2000.0 0.1 43.5 3.1
160 Games Workshop 7320.0 +210.0 12220.0 6365.0 2.8 20.2 2.4
188 Genus 2810.0 +0.0 6070.0 2810.0 1.1 51.8 1.8
7 GlaxoSmithKline 1656.6 +33.0 1707.81277.6 4.8 19.1 84.2
10 Glencore 507.6 +1.6 511.3 285.7 3.9 17.9 66.9
163 Grafton 990.8 +0.8 1412.0 965.0 3.1 11.5 2.4
168 Grainger 295.6 +0.0 335.0 269.8 1.7 18.4 2.2
197 Great Portland Estates 714.0 +17.5 803.5 629.0 1.5119.7 1.8
111 Greencoat UK Wind 154.8 +5.0 157.6 126.6 4.6 8.5 3.6
157 Greggs 2484.0 +66.03416.0 2206.0 2.3 21.7 2.5
48 Halma 2491.0 +23.0 3216.0 2217.0 0.7 36.0 9.5
100 Harbour Energy 481.6 -16.6 499.6 17.3 0.0 N.A 4.5
173 HarbourVest Global PE 2630.0 +95.0 2940.0 1988.0 0.0 2.2 2.1
92 Hargreaves Lansdown 985.2 -50.31772.0 985.2 3.9 15.8 4.7
176 Hays 121.6 -3.1 176.7 112.9 1.8 17.6 2.0
181 HgCapital Trust 432.5 +1.0 444.0 320.0 1.6 3.2 2.0
114 HICL Infrastructure 179.6 +11.0 179.6 161.0 4.6 18.6 3.5
95 Hikma Pharmaceuticals 2039.0 -12.0 2690.0 1825.0 2.0 14.8 4.6
200 Hilton Food 1240.0 +18.01250.0 1004.0 2.2 27.4 1.1
116 Hiscox 990.2 +30.2 990.2 770.0 2.7 23.8 3.4
140 HomeServe 850.0 -27.0 1212.0 608.5 3.1 76.4 2.9
97 Howden Joinery 781.0 +4.6 975.6 730.8 2.5 14.7 4.6
3 HSBC 528.9 +12.1 567.2 359.8 3.6 11.2 106.8
152 Hutchmed (China) 298.5 +15.3 624.0 232.0 0.0 N.A 2.6
113 IG 818.0 +11.0 952.5 717.0 5.3 8.4 3.5
112 IMI 1358.0 -40.01838.0 1277.0 1.7 18.5 3.5
35 Imperial Brands 1621.0 -30.5 1818.5 1465.5 8.6 5.4 15.4
153 Inchcape 678.0 -13.5 933.0 651.5 3.3 23.0 2.6
179 Indivior 285.0 +15.2 286.6 131.0 0.0 14.2 2.0
50 Informa 604.2 +10.2 624.0 464.4 0.0119.6 9.0
47 InterContinental Hotels 5150.0 -44.0 5338.0 4399.0 1.3 46.8 9.5
86 Intermediate Capital 1802.0 +119.0 2379.0 1385.0 3.2 10.4 5.2
64 International Airlines Group 141.2 +3.9 217.9 116.2 0.0 N.A 7.0
135 International Public Partner 174.2 +4.8 174.8 156.0 4.3 53.8 3.0
52 Intertek 5214.0 +122.06198.0 4735.0 2.0 29.3 8.439 3I Group 1381.5 +31.5 1503.51138.5 2.9 4.8 13.4
129 3I Infrastructure 351.0 +11.0 362.5 292.5 2.9 8.4 3.1
124 Abcam 1401.0 +43.0 1750.0 1171.0 0.0 822.2 3.2
93 Abrdn 213.9 +10.4 302.3 179.0 6.8 4.7 4.7
59 Admiral 2558.0 +23.0 3688.0 2439.0 5.1 13.0 7.7
83 Airtel Africa 141.5 +2.5 160.0 71.4 2.4 12.2 5.3
134 Alliance Trust 985.0 +14.01078.0 901.0 1.9 5.8 3.0
11 Anglo American 4069.5 +90.5 4069.5 2470.5 5.4 7.8 54.4
31 Antofagasta 1690.5 -44.5 1925.0 1227.0 6.4 21.3 16.7
27 Ashtead 4774.0 -366.0 6450.0 4455.0 1.0 23.8 21.2
40 Associated British Foods 1655.0 -49.5 2490.0 1626.5 1.6 27.3 13.1
178 Assura 68.0 +1.1 79.8 59.6 3.8 13.6 2.0
2 AstraZeneca 10076.0+233.0 10160.0 7099.0 2.2 485.4 156.1
68 Auto Trader 638.2 -6.6 741.8 543.6 1.2 31.5 6.0
71 Avast 562.6 -9.6 645.4 434.5 2.2 22.0 5.9
61 Aveva 2435.0 +30.0 4220.0 2365.0 1.5 N.A 7.3
32 Aviva 444.6 +6.8 458.2 370.9 5.0 70.3 16.4
82 B&M European Value Retail 534.2 -25.4 644.0 525.6 3.4 12.4 5.3
24 BAE Systems 713.8 -41.2 755.0 494.5 3.5 13.0 22.5
21 Barclays 147.0 -20.3 217.1 147.0 4.1 4.0 24.6
84 Barratt Developments 518.2 +8.6 794.8 509.6 6.4 8.1 5.3
155 Beazley 418.4 +5.1 504.0 294.4 3.2 11.0 2.6
132 Bellway 2441.0 -149.03712.0 2432.0 5.2 7.3 3.0
106 Berkeley 3728.0-111.0 4943.0 3670.0 0.0 9.3 4.2
144 Big Yellow 1531.0 -3.0 1724.0 1134.0 1.9 5.9 2.8
8 BP 379.0 -12.8 417.2 278.5 4.3 13.4 73.7
133 Bridgepoint 365.0 +51.5 569.0 266.5 0.0 22.5 3.0
9 British American Tobacco 3226.0 -74.0 3439.0 2512.5 6.7 11.2 73.7
90 British Land Company 525.0 -2.6 556.4 463.1 2.6 71.8 4.9
171 Britvic 804.0 +4.5 1006.0 741.0 3.0 20.8 2.2
29 BT 183.8 -2.0 205.6 135.2 1.3 17.8 18.2
44 Bunzl 2991.0 +92.0 2991.0 2251.0 1.9 22.7 10.1
66 Burberry 1673.5 +5.5 2264.0 1551.5 3.2 14.4 6.6
183 Caledonia Investments 3560.0+10.0 4100.0 2650.0 1.8 3.2 1.9
30 Carnival 1361.0 +102.4 1865.4 1092.2 0.0 N.A 17.3
96 Centrica 78.4 -6.1 84.5 45.5 0.0 7.8 4.6
185 City of London IT 417.0 +6.5 417.5 377.0 4.6 6.4 1.9
194 Close Brothers 1209.0 +19.01645.0 1072.0 5.3 9.0 1.8
76 Coca Cola HBC 1569.5 -30.5 2784.0 1460.5 3.8 12.5 5.7
19 Compass 1596.0 -58.01820.5 1407.5 0.9 79.8 28.5
109 Computacenter 2930.0 +24.0 3030.0 2404.0 2.3 18.2 3.6
104 ConvaTec 215.4 -5.0 262.6 166.9 2.1 48.7 4.3
186 Cranswick 3526.0-60.0 4148.0 3182.0 2.0 18.6 1.9
22 CRH 3043.0 -106.0 4002.0 2936.0 3.0 12.2 23.3
42 Croda International 7860.0 +426.0 10410.0 6386.0 1.3 34.3 11.0
126 Darktrace 450.5 +4.3 985.0 315.0 0.0 N.A 3.2
70 DCC 5942.0 +126.0 6486.0 5500.0 2.8 19.6 5.9
101 Dechra Pharmaceuticals 4088.0 +122.0 5405.0 3442.0 1.0 61.0 4.4
177 Deliveroo 114.9 +1.0 395.0 106.8 0.0 N.A 2.0
110 Derwent London 3200.0 -3.0 3802.0 2883.0 2.0 14.2 3.6
6 Diageo 3870.0 +53.04103.5 3007.0 1.9 29.8 89.3
121 Diploma 2614.0 +128.0 3460.0 2420.0 1.6 46.6 3.3TOP 200 COMPANIES
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less than or equal to zero. 52-week highs and lows are end of day. Excludes
exchange-traded funds. nc = no change. N.A. = not applicable. Source: RefinitivI would argue it’s the lightning
rod role... But nobody said‘you’re gonna get a package of
s*** to the house’Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British
Gas owner Centrica, reflects on the day
someone sent an unwelcome packageYes53%
No47%
The shambolic process to
find a new chairman for
Ofcom is finally over. Lord
(Michael) Grade, the former
Channel 4 boss, will oversee
the media regulator after a
two-year hunt.
Critics were quick to point
out the flaws in the man once
described as Britain’s
“pornographer-in-chief ” for
bringing Eurotrash to our
screens in the nineties. In his
select committee hearing,
Grade, 79, admitted he did
not use social media — the
very thing he will be
overseeing in the £142,500-a-
year role — and defended
right-wing campaigner
Laurence Fox for speaking
out against lockdowns.Oddly, though, there were
no questions from MPs about
his time as chairman of Gate
Ventures, the theatre
production company behind
42nd Street that also counted
the Duchess of York as a
director. It collapsed in
March 2020 but a lengthy
administration process
followed, during which
administrators Quantuma
Advisory have been
investigating the “use of
company funds” and loans
made to related parties and
to Fergie’s tea company
Ginger & Moss, with which
Gate had a joint venture.
Let’s hope Grade has a better
handle on things at taxpayer-
funded Ofcom.Fixer in a fix over
late accounts
Sir Martin Sorrell is probably
feeling a little bruised after
shares in his digital
advertising venture S4
Capital dived this week. The
reason? Auditors PwC
refused to sign off the
accounts, fuelling
speculation in the City about
accounting problems. It was
the second time the company
has had to delay the release
of the results.
If Sorrell, 77, is feeling sore
about the situation, at least
he’s not Ben Elliot. Accounts
for Quintessentially, the
concierge service founded by
the Tory party co-chairman,
46, are now nearly a year
overdue. Last year, after a
series of delays, the VIP fixer
service admitted to a series of
accounting errors. Auditors
BDO are still poring over the
books for 2020. The clock is
ticking...Barclays bosses
still coining it
March was a month to forget
for Barclays after it said it
would take a £450 million hit
for a costly blunder — or was
it? Not for the banking giant’s
top brass, who look set tocoin it in thanks to share
awards. New chief executive
CS Venkatakrishnan, 56, got
£5.4 million of shares, which
could pay out in three years if
he hits his performance
targets. Incoming finance
director Anna Cross, who is
taking over from Tushar
Morzaria, was handed shares
worth £550,000.
When were these tasty
rewards revealed? On March
14, the day that Barclays
announced it had to stop
issuing the exchange-traded
notes that are the root of its
£450 million headache. Still,
it’s not quite as bad as in
March 2013, when Barclaystried to bury the news of
bonuses worth nearly
£40 million for its executives
— including £17.5 million for
its former investment
banking boss Rich Ricci — on
the day of the budget, just
after the Libor-rigging
scandal.UK music stars
honour pioneer
The crème de la crème of the
music industry gathered at
the funeral of Jamal Edwards
last week to bid farewell to
the hugely talented
entrepreneur, who sadly died
in February aged just 31.
Ed Sheeran and Jessie J —
who credit Edwards with
kickstarting their music
careers — both performed
songs in a tribute to their
friend at the funeral in Luton,
where he was born.
His sister Tanisha delivered a
“beautiful” speech in difficult
circumstances, according to
one attendee.
Edwards, the son of Loose
Women star Brenda Edwards,
was a pioneer of the online
music scene through SBTV.
The company helped to
launch the careers of many
budding musicians through
his YouTube channel, which
has 1.2 million subscribers.
Rest in peace.Three-way Street: Lord Grade in 2018 with 42nd Street
star Lulu and the show’s producer, Michael LinnitEd Sheeran with EdwardsWill his lordship make
the grade at Ofcom?
P&O Ferries’ much lambasted chief executive Peter
Hebblethwaite hasn’t always had such dogged sea legs. He
spent years of his career running pubs for Greene King before
jumping ship for the Dubai-owned cross-Channel operator. It
wasn’t always smooth sailing running pubs either, as he
learned in 2011 when his division was fined £25,000 for
breaking food hygiene rules at the Royal Oak in Winchester.
The pub was shut down after health and safety operators
found filthy conditions including a waste water pipe leaking
into the kitchen. Declaring himself “mortified”,
Hebblethwaite, 51, said at the time: “A new management team
was installed and a complete overhaul of hygiene procedures
took place.” Time for a similar shake-up at P&O, Peter?Jamie Nimmo
JUST SAYING...
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