Wealth for investment pioneer – but Preqin sale a huge loss for Britain, says ALEX BRUMMER
Preqin is one of those City companies that most people have never heard of.
Founded twenty years ago by Mark O’Hare as Private Equity Intelligence, the company now reaches parts of the financial markets that others cannot.
In an extraordinary deal, O’Hare, who owns 80 percent of the shares through his Ring cycle tribute outfit Valhalla Ventures, has sold his shares to Blackrock.
This follows an auction in which the US asset manager competed against the London Stock Exchange Group and S&P Global.
The £2.55 billion cash sale ahead of Thursday’s general election means O’Hare instantly becomes one of Britain’s richest people, with a fortune of £2 billion.
Sold: Preqin provides alternative asset data and analytical tools that guide 170,000 professionals on investment strategies from offices in London and around the world
The timing of the deal almost certainly means he can shield his newfound billions from new wealth levies, something Labour is reportedly considering if elected.
O’Hare also has another life in rural Suffolk, where he owns farmland and has a small plane that shortens the commute to London.
On spring mornings you can see him jogging through swampy fields up to his knees in mud.
Preqin specialises in providing data on alternative assets and provides analytical tools that guide investment strategies for 170,000 professionals from offices in London and around the world.
The group describes itself as the home of alternative investments and the gathering of information on private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, national resources and ESG.
These are exactly the kinds of issues that Jeremy Hunt and no doubt his successors would like to see involved.
Legal & General is one of the few asset managers to date that has committed to exposing the traditional pension funds it manages to more adventurous investments.
Preqin is part of the vast Blackrock empire, worth more than $10 trillion. It means yet another thriving British company is being lost to foreign shareholders, with dire consequences for Britain’s thriving financial and business services sector.
Broker Peel Hunt reports that the UK takeover market is likening itself to a ‘coiled spring’ with 30 robust bids for FTSE-listed companies at an average offer price of £1.1bn.
The number of deals has increased with the knowledge that elections will be held this year and concerns that the next government will impose tighter controls on deals.
Foreign bids are rarely good for jobs, the country’s tax revenues, intellectual property, and in some cases the country’s economic and geopolitical security. Watchdogs need to bark louder.
French lettuce
Is France’s ‘Truss tantrum’ over? There was a relief rally in recent trading on the assumption that Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN) could be ousted from power if opposition parties successfully form an alliance.
The yield spread between French and German 10-year government bonds has narrowed to 0.75 percentage points, compared with 0.85 before the weekend vote.
Yet French government yields have still risen, with the interest rate differential widening by half a percentage point since President Macron took his election gamble.
If RN were to emerge as the clear winner, it would herald a period of unrest. The party’s expansive budget plans could lead to a bond yield explosion of a full point or more.
However, it is expected that the RN will water down its programme in office and will face restrictions if opposition parties unite.
It is clear that France’s problems are causing unrest across the eurozone and are increasing debt servicing costs everywhere.
France’s debt is 111% of output, and Italy’s is even higher at 137%. That makes the Office of Budget Responsibility’s projections for the UK of 92% or so less stressful than you might think from our election debate.
Two months ago, Macron hosted a “Choose France” summit and attracted some £13bn of investment from Amazon, Microsoft and Britain’s AstraZeneca. They may be less enthusiastic now.
The sound of music
I receive a more cheerful message via WhatsApp from a top executive of the FTSE 100, who has just returned from Glastonbury.
British musicians, like Coldplay, the biggest band in the world, “fought it,” he says. British-Albanian artist Dua Lipa “electrified” a global audience.
A feather in the cap for creative Britain.
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