CITY WHISPERS: Are Hipgnosis Investors Ready for an Easter Flush?

Things are becoming increasingly discordant for Hipgnosis investors.

The music fund, which owns the rights to songs by artists such as Shakira and Justin Bieber, saw its shares plummet to an all-time low last week after cutting the value of its portfolio by a quarter.

It said its vast catalog could be worth as little as £1.5 billion, which is 26 percent less than what it was valued at in September.

This pushed the shares to a record low of 53p, a far cry from their peak of £1.29 at the end of 2021.

In an even less reassuring sign for investors, Hipgnosis, the brainchild of music mogul Merck Mercuriadis, has said it will provide another update to the market by March 29.

Elephant in the room: Hipgnosis has said it will provide another update on the market on March 29

This, Whispers notes, is Good Friday and a holiday.

It will delay the possibility of more share price woes as a four-day break is imposed before trading resumes on Tuesday.

Maybe Mercuriadis just wants to eat his Easter eggs in peace.

Richard Griffiths tripled his stake in IQE

There was a boost for IQE last week when ‘Welsh wizard’ Richard Griffiths tripled his stake in the semiconductor company to 7.6 percent.

1710243202 880 CITY WHISPERS Are Hipgnosis Investors Ready for an Easter Flush

The former sheep farmer is known for his success in backing companies such as Nanoco, GVC and Oxford Nanopore Technologies.

1710243204 447 CITY WHISPERS Are Hipgnosis Investors Ready for an Easter Flush

1710243206 493 CITY WHISPERS Are Hipgnosis Investors Ready for an Easter Flush

Perhaps his latest move will work some magic on IQE’s share price, which has yet to recover from a plunge a year ago.

M&S wins fashion retailer award

Britain’s top retailers gathered at the chic Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair last week for the annual awards, organized by Trade Rag Retail Week.

Among those on stage was Sainsbury boss Simon Roberts, who won retail leader of the year. Tesco won the gong for best major retailer.

Perhaps the biggest winner of the night was M&S, who took home the trophy for fashion retailer of the year.

No one will celebrate more than the company’s head of clothing, Richard Price. Over the past four years, together with women’s clothing director Maddy Evans, he has made Marks & Spencer stylish again.

What a makeover!

Shipbroker Clarksons is flourishing

Clarksons achieved a record set of results.

The FTSE 250 company is in high demand as Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea leave transport companies struggling to secure passage on alternative routes. But hidden in the results was another reason.

Clarksons noted that the shortage of ships had been exacerbated by the push for green fuels as the sector battles to cut emissions.

This makes owners hesitant to order more ships because they fear they will not choose the right fuel technology. Not exactly plain sailing, huh?

Contributors: Francesca Washtell and Leah Montebello