Latest news with #BaronRothschild
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Lady Rothschild interview: ‘I'm proud to have been a Page 3 girl'
Loretta Rothschild is contemplating the term 'trophy wife'. As a former Page 3 model who married Nat Rothschild, heir to the centuries-old European banking dynasty, she's grown used to the tabloid sobriquet. 'I've been described as worse things,' she laughs. 'But on Page 3 – honestly, I really want to make this clear: I'm so proud to have been a Page 3 girl and I will always celebrate that achievement.' This is the first time Lady Rothschild, to use her official title, has ever given a proper, sit-down interview. Until this point, the billionaire couple, who married in the Swiss ski resort of Klosters in 2016, had not even made it public that they have a son – whose name and age she has requested I withhold. Why such secrecy, when her only child will one day become the 6th Baron Rothschild, inheriting a vast wealth that has made the family one of the most famous in the world? 'There are downsides,' the 34-year-old admits. To being a Rothschild? 'No, to being in the press,' she caveats. 'I've had photographers turn up outside my sister's home and at my mum's… I've always said I won't talk about my son until he is 18 years old and then he can decide for himself.' Which goes some way to explaining why Rothschild boasts a Burke's Peerage entry – but not a Wikipedia one. So far, any articles that have been written about her have tended to be of the Essex girl/arm candy variety. One praised her 'fantastic figure, great boobs, small waist, good bum, and long, chestnut hair', while another described her as 'looking gorgeous in black undies, stockings and suspenders'. That rather tawdry narrative is set to change, with the publication of Finding Grace, Rothschild's page-turning first novel, which is already on Goodreads' list of the hottest debuts of 2025. Described as a 'gripping and emotional love story exploring grief, motherhood and an explosive secret', the book chronicles the lives of Tom and Honor – a husband and wife torn apart by a shocking event. The Tell Me Lies author Carola Lovering has said it 'feels like a movie… with characters and scenes that explode off the page' – and plaudits have been flowing in from bestselling authors including Plum Sykes, Julia Whelan and Imogen Edward-Jones. The American writer, Jodi Picoult, who has sold more than 40 million books, enthused: 'Loretta Rothschild's debut novel has one of the best first chapter cliffhangers ever…and then it just keeps getting better.' As we meet at the offices of Rothschild's publicist in central London, I find the budding novelist dressed casually in a pair of blue Levi's and black ribbed Cos jumper – with her navy Habsburg military-style blazer hanging over a nearby chair. Although she was born in Essex, and brought up by her mother Sue, an East Ender who encouraged Loretta and her older sister Olivia into child modelling, there isn't a false eyelash or fake fingernail in sight. Instead, the well-spoken Rothschild, who as far as I can tell is wearing no make-up at all, exudes the kind of wholesome, natural beauty that Page 3 girls were famous for before The Sun discontinued the topless photography in 2015, after more than 44 years. 'There were not a lot of us,' she recalls, her piercing blue eyes staring straight into mine. 'And we were all natural. The images weren't airbrushed or touched up or anything like that. It was a very comfortable environment. I mean, at the time, I didn't think of it as a career or anything like that. It was just great to be able to earn my own money and support myself. But I was probably never very good at it, because my head was somewhere else. You know, I was always away with the fairies, whatever I was doing.' Alison Webster, the paper's official Page 3 photographer, remembers her rather differently, once describing 'Elle', as she was known to fans back then, as 'a bright girl who was sure of herself and always in control'. She adds: 'And she was ambitious. We'd sit with a glass of wine after a day's shoot and she'd tell me she wanted to make something more of herself. And I always felt that she would.' After appearing in The Sun and modelling under her real name Loretta Basey, Rothschild went on to date the comedian Steve Coogan, who she met during a cover shoot for the now defunct lads' mag, Loaded. He was guest-editing in the guise of his alter-ego Alan Partridge and, in one photograph, was snapped cupping her breasts in his hands. The couple lived together at his home near Lewes, East Sussex, before breaking up in 2014. The actor's 2015 autobiography Easily Distracted thanks 'Loretta for making me laugh with her gentle mockery, and for her love'. The pair remain friends. 'I mean, I adore Steve, I really do,' insists Rothschild. 'We had a great relationship. You know, nearly five years of my life.' But it was Eton-educated Rothschild, 53, who ultimately stole her heart. Not that it was love at first sight – far from it, in fact. Denouncing as 'nonsense' reports that the couple met while Loretta was working for a private jet company, she explains: 'We'd been friends for quite a long time. I wish there was some romantic story but my husband's pretty straightforward. I think we were on a dog walk and he said: 'I want you to be my girlfriend.' I can't quite remember but I think I replied: 'What, no dinner?' or something like that. We were ambling along and I was very much sort of covered in mud. 'I didn't become his girlfriend in that moment. We were friends, and we continued to be friends, even after the 'I want you to be my girlfriend'. He was very nervous all the time around me – very shy. And it took me a few years to fall in love with him. 'When it was just us, he could be quite quiet, but he came to life with his friends, when there were other people around. When I really started to fancy him was when he started to be very funny. Nat is so funny, to the point where sometimes I can't breathe.' I ask if she was worried about the 19-year age gap – or, more importantly, the weight of the Rothschild name. Describing the former member of Oxford University's notorious Bullingdon Club as 'the least kind of society person I know', she adds: 'I can't even think of him in that way. He's not a snob. Nat's Nat. He comes into your life, and that's it, he's in. That's the blessing. That's why I probably never felt like I was in a certain world because Nat is someone I deeply admire for the way he walks through the world. He's very, very true to himself. There's never a moment where a façade is up. He is totally authentic, 100 per cent of the time. And that's very attractive.' After marrying at an intimate ceremony in the Swiss Alps nine years ago, the pair then held a second wedding reception at Stowell Park, Nat's parents' sprawling estate near Pewsey, Wiltshire. But the groom did not invite his father Jacob to the wedding and they remained estranged until his death, aged 87, last year. The former investment banker and hereditary peer would tell friends their strained relationship was similar to that of the King and Prince Harry. Nat's mother, Serena, a thoroughbred-racehorse owner, did not attend either, although the pair remained close until her death in 2019, aged 83. Reluctant to comment on the family feud, Rothschild insists she 'wasn't ever worried' about what she was marrying into – or indeed how she might be treated as an 'outsider'. 'I just had no idea. I probably made some terrible mistakes, seemingly to some people, and would ask questions I probably shouldn't have asked, but Nat and I just got on so well that we were in our own world. I was never intimidated by anything. I think after Page 3, if any negativity came my way, I just thought, well, that's your view, but I can't control what other people think of me. I'm never going to please everyone. So if I can please my mum or Nat or the people that answer the phone every day and really know me, then that feels nice to me.' The couple live quite a nomadic lifestyle – with a superyacht and homes in London, Wiltshire, Los Angeles and Klosters. They are currently spending most of their time at another home, in Italy. Estimates of Nat's wealth range between £1 billion and £40 billion following his father's death. Yet Loretta insists that she remains rooted 'in the principles that my mum really nailed into me', adding: 'There's two things in life I cannot stand. One of them is snobbery about anything, and the other is intentional cruelty towards others. Cruelty and snobbery are just non-starters for me.' Like Nat, she is estranged from her father – Phillip, an accountant and a former treasurer of UKIP and the Brexit party. The couple appear to be much closer to her family than the wider Rothschild clan. She explains: 'You know, our family chat (group) consists of me, Nat, my mum and my immediate family. He's very much in the Essex chat group. At recent Christmases I've enjoyed watching just how much Nat loves my mum. The whole thing is so small. I don't honestly think about 'the family'. Do I feel like someone's wife? No, Nat sort of has to get on with us!' And if she ever gets any ideas above her station, she's brought back down to earth by her sister. 'I would sometimes call Liv and say: 'You don't understand what's just happened to me' and she'd be like: 'Yeah, can you babysit tonight?' 'When I react, I react as an Essex girl. I mean, I wish I didn't sometimes but that is fundamentally who I am. I've worked really hard to do what I have – whether it's Page 3 or my book. When I look at that – I achieved that and I want to carry on achieving things.' Despite being 'appalling at school', and later being diagnosed with dyslexia, she developed a passion for literature. 'School was tough,' she admits of her all-girls, private secondary education, saying she preferred the mixed state primary school she attended when she was younger. She adds: 'The teachers would all say: 'She's in her own world', which was absolutely correct. 'I left school, went to college for a bit and did a year at Manchester Metropolitan but, on reflection, I should never have gone to university. I was always walking around with characters in my head, making up stories – I didn't realise that other people didn't do that.' When the Covid lockdown happened, Rothschild began 'devouring everything I could find about writing novels'. She cites Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, William Boyd's Any Human Heart, Alan Hollinghurst's The Line of Beauty and Max Porter's Grief is the Thing with Feathers as inspirations, alongside writers including Saki and Somerset Maugham. 'I started to learn why some novels work and why some don't. And then Honor [the book's main character] kind of came into my head. She was this very vocal voice and I couldn't do anything without her voicing an opinion. It was like she was suddenly there.' The book, she admits, is essentially a series of love stories. 'It's a love story, but it's also about paternal love, platonic love, unexpected love, past loves, and how they are intertwined.' She's a romantic, then? 'I think I am. I think that falling in love, that freefall of infatuation is so quick and so rarely experienced that it's the most dangerous. At that moment, you're at your most vulnerable.' I wonder if she worried about the book being branded 'chick lit' when actually the 'first chapter cliffhanger' Picoult referenced makes it more in the vein of Gone Girl or The Girl on a Train. 'I like the fact that I've written a love story. I've written something that is considered a romance. So chick lit, for me… if I am in any way in that kind of window or associated with those authors, I would be thrilled. Those books are so fantastic – they're popular and have a fan base that will queue around the block for them.' She adds, 'It's strange that that is something that isn't celebrated in the right way, or dismissed when those authors are writing about really important subjects. It's just snobbery.' She did every online writing masterclass she could find during lockdown and then attended a creative writing course in LA for a year. 'I'm quite methodical. I've got a lot of ideas but I needed some structure. I needed to find a style that suited me.' Finding a publishing deal was, she admits, 'terrifying'. Acknowledging that most people will assume she only got the book published because of her husband, she says: 'I never really said to people, I'm going to do this thing. I said, hey, I've done this thing – it already exists, here it is. Because I remember, back in my 20s, mentioning to one person that I want to write – and they sort of gave me this face. So I thought, 'I'm not going to do that.' Don't tell people what you're planning to do – just tell them what you've done. 'I had quite a lot of naivety about it in the sense that I was so excited I finished this thing. But my first thought was: will it even get read? In the few weeks before we sent it out, I reread the first few chapters and thought, this is terrible, why am I doing this?' Just 72 hours after the draft was sent out to UK and US publishers, St Martin's Press, based in New York, replied. 'I remember it exactly,' smiles Rothschild. 'I opened my email and they came back and said, 'We want it, and we want the next one as well', so it ended up being a two-book deal. But in England, there were a lot of rejections. It certainly didn't happen because of my surname. That doesn't really happen, unless you're a Tolstoy! Actually writing a book and getting it published is bloody hard.' Admitting she did 'drive my husband a bit mad' with the whole process, she says: 'He was extremely supportive, to be fair, bringing me endless cups of tea. He was always up for it.' Rothschild would get up at the crack of dawn and write before anyone else had woken up. 'I felt like that time was so precious, when the whole house was quiet. I'd get three hours of writing in.' There is now rarely a day that goes by when she doesn't write something, and she is already halfway through her second book. Naturally, her mother Sue remains her biggest fan. 'My mum is so proud of every breath I take. Before she'd even read anything, I was already one of the Brontë sisters to her.' Reader, she may have married him – but when it comes to this Page 3 girl turned published author – it's probably best not to judge the book by its cover.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Shareholders in Pestec International Berhad (KLSE:PESTEC) are in the red if they invested five years ago
Some stocks are best avoided. We don't wish catastrophic capital loss on anyone. Imagine if you held Pestec International Berhad (KLSE:PESTEC) for half a decade as the share price tanked 80%. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 40% over the last twelve months. Furthermore, it's down 15% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders. We note that the company has reported results fairly recently; and the market is hardly delighted. You can check out the latest numbers in our company report. 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. Pestec International Berhad wasn't profitable in the last twelve months, it is unlikely we'll see a strong correlation between its share price and its earnings per share (EPS). Arguably revenue is our next best option. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually desire strong revenue growth. As you can imagine, fast revenue growth, when maintained, often leads to fast profit growth. Over half a decade Pestec International Berhad reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 9.7% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. So it's not that strange that the share price dropped 12% per year in that period. This kind of price performance makes us very wary, especially when combined with falling revenue. Ironically, that behavior could create an opportunity for the contrarian investor - but only if there are good reasons to predict a brighter future. You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). Take a more thorough look at Pestec International Berhad's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet. While the broader market lost about 6.7% in the twelve months, Pestec International Berhad shareholders did even worse, losing 40%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 12% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Pestec International Berhad better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Pestec International Berhad (3 are a bit unpleasant) that you should be aware of. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Malaysian exchanges. 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. 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
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stepan (NYSE:SCL) shareholders have endured a 40% loss from investing in the stock three years ago
In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But the risk of stock picking is that you will likely buy under-performing companies. We regret to report that long term Stepan Company (NYSE:SCL) shareholders have had that experience, with the share price dropping 44% in three years, versus a market return of about 64%. And more recent buyers are having a tough time too, with a drop of 34% in the last year. Since shareholders are down over the longer term, lets look at the underlying fundamentals over the that time and see if they've been consistent with returns. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. 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, Stepan's earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 26% each year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 17% compound annual share price fall. This suggests that the market retains some optimism around long term earnings stability, despite past EPS declines. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free interactive report on Stepan's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. In the case of Stepan, it has a TSR of -40% for the last 3 years. That exceeds its share price return that we previously mentioned. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence! While the broader market gained around 13% in the last year, Stepan shareholders lost 33% (even including dividends). However, keep in mind that even the best stocks will sometimes underperform the market over a twelve month period. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 6% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Stepan better, we need to consider many other factors. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with Stepan (at least 1 which is significant) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Stepan is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges. 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.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The past year for Janus International Group (NYSE:JBI) investors has not been profitable
Janus International Group, Inc. (NYSE:JBI) shareholders should be happy to see the share price up 12% in the last month. But that is minimal compensation for the share price under-performance over the last year. In fact the stock is down 40% in the last year, well below the market return. With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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). Unfortunately Janus International Group reported an EPS drop of 63% for the last year. The share price fall of 40% isn't as bad as the reduction in earnings per share. So the market may not be too worried about the EPS figure, at the moment -- or it may have expected earnings to drop faster. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). This free interactive report on Janus International Group's earnings, revenue and cash flow is a great place to start, if you want to investigate the stock further. Janus International Group shareholders are down 40% for the year, but the market itself is up 13%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 3% over the last half decade. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Janus International Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 2 warning signs for Janus International Group you should be aware of, and 1 of them is concerning. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of undervalued companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges. 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
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investors in Grocery Outlet Holding (NASDAQ:GO) have unfortunately lost 64% over the last three years
While not a mind-blowing move, it is good to see that the Grocery Outlet Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:GO) share price has gained 20% in the last three months. But over the last three years we've seen a quite serious decline. Tragically, the share price declined 64% in that time. So the improvement may be a real relief to some. While many would remain nervous, there could be further gains if the business can put its best foot forward. 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. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Grocery Outlet Holding saw its EPS decline at a compound rate of 33% per year, over the last three years. This change in EPS is reasonably close to the 29% average annual decrease in the share price. That suggests that the market sentiment around the company hasn't changed much over that time, despite the disappointment. In this case, it seems that the EPS is guiding the share price. The company's earnings per share (over time) is depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers). It's probably worth noting we've seen significant insider buying in the last quarter, which we consider a positive. On the other hand, we think the revenue and earnings trends are much more meaningful measures of the business. Before buying or selling a stock, we always recommend a close examination of historic growth trends, available here.. Investors in Grocery Outlet Holding had a tough year, with a total loss of 38%, against a market gain of about 13%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Regrettably, last year's performance caps off a bad run, with the shareholders facing a total loss of 10% per year over five years. We realise that Baron Rothschild has said investors should "buy when there is blood on the streets", but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Grocery Outlet Holding better, we need to consider many other factors. Case in point: We've spotted 3 warning signs for Grocery Outlet Holding you should be aware of. Grocery Outlet Holding is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find lesser know companies this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges. 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.
