King Street Raises $1 Billion as European Property Cracks Appear
The firm's European Real Estate Special Situations II fund reached its hard cap of $950 million of capital commitments within 12 months, according to a statement Monday. King Street has already deployed more than €1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) in European real estate debt and equity since interest rates ratcheted higher in 2022, partner and co-head of global real estate Paul Brennan said in an interview, and the latest fund raise will allow it to ramp up activity further.
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Liverpool make contact to sign €60m winger
Liverpool have made contact to sign €60m winger according to the latest reports. Richard Hughes' current priority is player sales. The club's sporting director has done a good job so far this summer including securing the services of Florian Wirtz. Advertisement But now Hughes must focus on generating more cash so Liverpool continue to comply with the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) before launching himself into the market again. Among the club's priorities when it comes to bringing in new players are bolstering the centre-back and no.9 roles as well as adding further depth on the wings. This is of course all dependent on who leaves the club. For Liverpool to be able to invest in new attackers, they must first sell Federico Chiesa and Darwin Nunez. When those deals get over the line, there will be a clear opportunity for further investment. Advertisement But it looks like Liverpool are already working on potential players to bring in. When it comes to a new winger, the Reds have seemingly identified Malick Fofana of Lyon. According to The Independent, Liverpool are among a number of clubs who are in contact to sign the Belgian international with Lyon asking for €60m for his services at the moment. Fofana would be a solid addition to replace Chiesa. He's very quick, and direct. He can use both of his feet comfortably, which means he would be capable of playing on either flank. And he's not a stranger to playing in other roles as well. For example at youth level for Belgium he played as a forward. Meanwhile, at Gent, he was often used as a wing-back. Advertisement The speed and one vs one ability that stands-out about him is exactly how Slot wants his wingers to play. This is why going for Fofana makes a lot of sense. He's also still only just 20-years-old. The world is at his feet, and the only obstacle really in Liverpool's way is the fact that Lyon's valuation is probably a bit too high right now. €60m is just over £50m. At this moment in time, Fofana is not worth that. He may be worth even more than that in the future but right now he's now shown enough to warrant such a high fee. Which is even more high than expected considering Lyon's financial troubles. The French side are in mass debt which has meant they have been relegated to Ligue 2. Now they are appealing that decision. However, with such debts and in such a dire situation, there is no way Liverpool would pay as much money for Fofana as Lyon are demanding. The window is long, and the chances are Liverpool are in the waiting game right now. A lot will hinge on the fate of Lyon and what the outcome of their appeal will be.
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French B2B neobank Qonto reaches 600,000 customers, files for banking license
'Is Qonto a real bank?' is one of the top suggested questions in Google searches about the French fintech startup. The answer is no, but it could change: Qonto has filed for a banking license in France, CEO Alexandre Prot revealed. Qonto, which targets European freelancers and SMBs, currently operates with a payment institution license it obtained in 2018, and which already enabled it to introduce a form of buy now, pay later (BNPL). But a credit institution license would let it offer broader lending, savings, and investment options to its target customers. Since its current license is valid across the EU, Qonto has already been able to expand into several European markets, and recently reached the milestone of 600,000 customers. But lacking a credit license is a hindrance for its goal to reach 2 million customers by 2030. While offering a more comprehensive solution seems like a natural move to compete with incumbent banks, obtaining a license and rolling out credit is not easy. 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The son of former BNP Paribas President Baudouin Prot, Qonto's CEO had obviously already thought about pursuing a credit license — and that's not just a guess. During a press briefing, Prot confirmed that he and co-founder Steve Anavi seriously considered the idea at one point, but ultimately dismissed it because it would have required too much time and additional fundraising. Having been profitable since 2023 means that this hurdle now won't require Qonto to raise more funding than the $552 million it secured in 2022 at a $5 billion valuation. Prot recently said that 'the main, or the only reason, why we could raise additional capital is if we do a large or very large M&A deal, paid mostly in cash.' In its eight years of existence, Qonto has made two acquisitions: It took over its German competitor Penta in 2022, and it bought accounting and financial automation platform Regate in 2024. The latter is a reflection of Qonto's positioning beyond banking and as an integrated finance management solution, with an offering that also includes tools for invoicing and bookkeeping. This approach helped it grow in the B2B segment across Europe. Prot declined to give a full breakdown of its 600,000 customers, but he said that Germany is now Qonto's largest market after France. In unspecified order, Spain and Italy come next, followed by the markets it entered in late 2024: Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Portugal. Still, Prot operates under the assumption that some customers won't choose Qonto unless it is a credit institution. That's because this would grant them additional guarantees on their deposits, and because they want credit to be an option if they ever need it, which some already do. Qonto validated that demand for credit with its Pay Later service; launched in 2024, it has already facilitated €50 million in financing, according to the company (approximately $59 million). But the offer is limited by its current license — both for Qonto, which can only lend from its own equity, and for its customers, who can't borrow for longer than 12 months. To help its customers access other types of loans, Qonto also put together a 'financing hub' with third-party fintech partners including Defacto, Karmen, Riverbank, and Silvr. Prot said Qonto plans to keep it for at least a few more years. And some of these offerings are more specific than what the company may want to get into. Still, becoming a credit institution in its own right would unlock new revenue for Qonto, both from the margin on credits and more upside from deposits, which it would be able to use for lending. Prot declined to disclose revenue figures but said that revenue increased by 30% in the last year. However, Prot said that this additional revenue wasn't the main factor at play. Acquiring new customers aside, Qonto also sees this as an opportunity to depend less on others and launch new products faster. In the same vein, it recently built an in-house card processor to increase acceptance rates while reducing its reliance on third parties. With a team of 1,600 people, Qonto now hopes that it will have the bandwidth to work on new product developments, such as the AI-enabled 'Qonto Intelligence' layer, while also enhancing its banking infrastructure and risk management teams. The latter is also aimed to demonstrate its readiness to France's banking supervisor, with which it plans to work closely to obtain its license. The process may still take years, but it is also part of a broader 'growing up' effort for Qonto, which recently added several senior profiles to its board of directors. These steps could also help lay the groundwork for a future IPO, though that remains a longer-term prospect. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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an hour ago
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Groupe Minoteries (VTX:GMI) shareholders have endured a 22% loss from investing in the stock three years ago
Many investors define successful investing as beating the market average over the long term. But if you try your hand at stock picking, you risk returning less than the market. We regret to report that long term Groupe Minoteries SA (VTX:GMI) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 32% in three years, versus a market return of about 19%. Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business. We've found 21 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. While the efficient markets hypothesis continues to be taught by some, it has been proven that markets are over-reactive dynamic systems, and investors are not always rational. One way to examine how market sentiment has changed over time is to look at the interaction between a company's share price and its earnings per share (EPS). During the three years that the share price fell, Groupe Minoteries' earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 9.1% each year. This reduction in EPS is slower than the 12% annual reduction in the share price. So it seems the market was too confident about the business, in the past. You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values). Dive deeper into Groupe Minoteries' key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Groupe Minoteries's earnings, revenue and cash flow. When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. The TSR is a return calculation that accounts for the value of cash dividends (assuming that any dividend received was reinvested) and the calculated value of any discounted capital raisings and spin-offs. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. In the case of Groupe Minoteries, it has a TSR of -22% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return. We're pleased to report that Groupe Minoteries shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 7.4% over one year. Of course, that includes the dividend. Notably the five-year annualised TSR loss of 2% per year compares very unfavourably with the recent share price performance. The long term loss makes us cautious, but the short term TSR gain certainly hints at a brighter future. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Groupe Minoteries better, we need to consider many other factors. Take risks, for example - Groupe Minoteries has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of. We will like Groupe Minoteries better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of undervalued stocks (mostly small caps) with considerable, recent, insider buying. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Swiss exchanges. — Investing narratives with Fair Values Suncorp's Next Chapter: Insurance-Only and Ready to Grow By Robbo – Community Contributor Fair Value Estimated: A$22.83 · 0.1% Overvalued Thyssenkrupp Nucera Will Achieve Double-Digit Profits by 2030 Boosted by Hydrogen Growth By Chris1 – Community Contributor Fair Value Estimated: €14.40 · 0.3% Overvalued Tesla's Nvidia Moment – The AI & Robotics Inflection Point By BlackGoat – Community Contributor Fair Value Estimated: $384.84 · 0.2% Overvalued View more featured narratives — Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
