Latest news with #MonyGroup
Times
15 hours ago
- Automotive
- Times
Business live: Wise bosses fight over two-tier structure
A fall in insurance premiums has weighed on revenue growth at Mony Group, as fewer drivers switched insurance providers. The group, formerly known as MoneySuperMarket, said revenue at its core insurance business declined 2 per cent during the first half of the year as car premiums fell 9 per cent, prompting the company to shift its focus towards other insurance categories such as home, life and travel. Overall revenue for the price comparison website owner rose 1 per cent to £225 million, which pushed pre-tax profit slightly higher to £59.8 million. Shares in the FTSE 250 group were down 14.4p, or 6.6 per cent, to 205p in morning trading. The company said it expected to deliver adjusted profits of £143.7 million this year, in line with market expectations. Stellantis, the carmaker behind Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën and Fiat in Europe and Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler in the US, expects to make a first-half net loss of €2.3 billion. The loss comes after €3.6 billion in charges due to restructuring and impairment costs and the initial hit from US tariffs. Revenues fell to €74.3 billion from €85 billion in the first half of 2024. The results highlighted the challenges facing the new chief executive, Antonio Filosa. He was appointed in May this year after former boss Carlos Tavares stepped down in December following a sharp decline in global sales and a profit warning. Stellantis put the early effect of US tariffs at €300 million. This includes the loss of planned production from implementing the company's response plan. A major shareholder row has erupted at Wise, the money transfer group, with the co-founders falling out over plans to extend its two-tier share structure. Former chairman Taavet Hinrikus has strongly criticised his co-founder, Kristo Kaarmann, as the latter revealed he planned to extend his shareholding dominance over the group for up to another ten years. The company had promised to dismantle the two-tier structure by July 2026. Hinrikus said he was 'deeply troubled' by the proposal, which contravened shareholder democracy. Kaarmann owns 18 per cent of the economic interest of the £11 billion London-based company, but 55 per cent of the votes. Hinrikus has also attacked the 'bundling' of the dual structure extension vote with a separate decision on moving the primary listing from London to New York, which he supports. He has applied for a counter-resolution to unbundle the vote on the plan. Wise said many other US tech companies have a dual set up, and they often outperformed companies with single share structures. Shares in listed water companies have barely moved this morning following the publication of Sir Jon Cunliffe's review of the sector, which recommended that Ofwat be merged with the water functions of the Environment Agency, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and parts of Natural England to form a single integrated water regulator for England. United Utilities, which serves northwest England, dipped 0.04 per cent, Severn Trent edged up 0.05 per cent, and Pennon Group, the owner of South West Water, Bristol Water and SES Water, rose 0.4 per cent. Analysts at Jefferies said: 'Overall, we see the recommendations as a clear step forward for the sector. Narrowing of ODIs [outcome delivery incentives] may favour United Utilities, Pennon and Severn Trent.' Outcome delivery incentives are financial rewards or penalties used by regulators to incentivise water companies to meet or exceed performance commitments related to customer service and environmental protection. London's leading stock market index gained 4.66 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 8,996.78, with a rise in iron ore prices to a four-week high buoying mining stocks. Glencore, Rio Tinto, Antofagasta and Anglo American led the risers. An increase in the gold price, supported by a weaker dollar as investors monitored developments in US trade talks, lifted precious metal miners Endeavour and Fresnillo. Shares in the defence company BAE Systems, the Guinness brewer Diageo and the advertising agency WPP were lower. The pound rose against the dollar to $1.344. Bond yields were lower across the board, with the 10-year UK government gilt down 5 basis points to 4.64%. Expect shares in water companies to be in focus this morning after Sir Jon Cunliffe's independent review of the embattled sector proposed creating a new water industry regulator, combining Ofwat with bodies that focus on the environment and drinking water. The review came after mounting anger over sewage spills and rising bills. Ofwat has been criticised for setting rules that allowed privatised water companies to pile up debt while paying high dividends and neglecting to invest in infrastructure. It also proposed giving the regulator the power to block material changes in the control of water companies — for example, 'where investors are not seen to be prioritising the long-term interests of the company and its customers'. There were 88 proposals covering the English and Welsh water industries. • Read our story: Create one water regulator to protect public The embattled oil company has appointed Albert Manifold to succeed Helge Lund as chairman. Manifold was the chief executive of the building materials group CRH from January 2014 until December 2024. He will take over the role on October 1. Lund announced he would stand down in April. The announcement came a fortnight after it emerged that Elliott, the New York hedge fund, had been discussing potential leadership changes at BP with fellow shareholders. The 62-year-old Norwegian has chaired BP since 2019. He oversaw its ill-fated strategic push into green energy and its recent about-turn to refocus on fossil fuels. He handled both the appointment of Bernard Looney as chief executive and his subsequent ousting over undisclosed relationships with colleagues. Ryanair's net profit more than doubled in its April-June quarter, helped by the timing of the Easter holidays and better-than-expected last-minute fares. Europe's largest low-cost carrier reported a net profit of €820 million for its first quarter, up from €360 million in the same period last year, when Easter was in March. Analysts had expected profits of €716 million. Average fares rose 21 per cent from the same quarter last year, the company said. Michael O'Leary, chief executive, said: 'We . . . cautiously expect to recover almost all of last year's 7% full-year fare decline, which should lead to reasonable net profit growth in FY26.' Ryanair shares closed at €23.12 on Friday, down 7.5 per cent from a high of €24.98 on July 8. Japan's ruling coalition lost control of the upper house in an election on Sunday, further weakening prime minister Shigeru Ishiba's grip on power. Japan's prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, is under intense pressure to resign after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost control of the upper house of the Diet, in an election on Sunday that saw a dramatic surge by a far right anti-foreigner party. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday on Monday, but the yen strengthened slightly against the dollar, while Nikkei futures rose slightly as the election results appeared to be already priced in. Japanese government bonds fell last week, sending yields on 30-year debt to an all-time high, while the yen slid to multi-month lows against the dollar and the euro. Ishiba pledged to remain party leader as the country tries to get a tariff deal with President Trump before the August 1 deadline. The election saw a surge in support for the far-right anti-foreigner party Sanseito. It seeks to restrict the rights of foreigners under the slogan 'Japanese First' and came second in the number of seats allocated by proportional representation, tying with the two main opposition parties. • Read in full: Japan's PM under pressure after losing upper house majority
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Moneysupermarket reaps the rewards after rush to lock into new energy deals ahead of the April price hikes
Moneysupermarket's energy and home services arm surged as suppliers raised promotional deals in advance of prices rising again in April. The company, owned by Mony Group, said that this fuelled a 'modest' rise in revenue from January to the end of April. The group was updating investors ahead of its annual meeting on Thursday. The energy price cap was hiked again in April, with bills reaching an average of £1,849 a year.
The Independent
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Moneysupermarket parent group saw energy deals surge ahead of price cap rise
Moneysupermarket said it saw a surge in its energy and home services business as suppliers raised promotional deals in advance of prices rising again in April. The company, which is owned by London-listed Mony Group, said the growth in deals had helped it deliver a 'modest increase' in revenue from January to the end of April compared with the same point last year. That is despite having had 'an exceptionally strong comparative period in 2024″, it said. The group was updating investors on its financials ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday. The energy price cap was hiked again in April, which saw customer bills reach an average of £1,849 a year. At the time, consumer groups urged the 22 million homes still covered by the cap to consider fixing their prices so they would not be affected by the rise. Mony Group said it is on course to meet its full-year profit guidance and that its money division had seen 'continued momentum' despite fewer banking promotions. Meanwhile, its travel comparison service 'remains stable despite the challenging economic conditions and uncertainty currently impacting the UK consumer'. It comes after the group reported record revenues in 2024 as it benefited from growth in its insurance arm. The insurance division also enjoyed strong trading in home, life and travel insurance, which partly offset 'continued headwinds' in the car insurance switching market. The company added that its SuperSaveClub membership platform passed 1.3 million members.
Evening Standard
08-05-2025
- Business
- Evening Standard
Moneysupermarket parent group saw energy deals surge ahead of price cap rise
The company, which is owned by London-listed Mony Group, said the growth in deals had helped it deliver a 'modest increase' in revenue from January to the end of April compared with the same point last year.
Finextra
06-05-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Flagstone names Darren Bentley chief growth officer
The former Chief Customer Officer for MoneySuperMarket and MoneySavingExpert has joined Flagstone, the UK's largest savings platform* and the fintech engine behind the savings proposition for over 1,000 UK financial services providers, as Chief Growth Officer. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Darren Bentley brings to Flagstone two decades' experience of leading growth strategies for some of the UK's fast-growing, consumer-facing finance brands. Darren spent more than seven years at MoneySuperMarket (now Mony Group Plc), and was appointed to the executive team to lead marketing and growth strategies for the group's three chief brands: MoneySuperMarket, TravelSuperMarket and MoneySavingExpert. Between joining the business and stepping down as Chief Customer Officer in 2019, the group doubled EBITDA (to £129m) and its market cap tripled (to £2.2 billion). Darren joins Flagstone at a pivotal point in the company's growth trajectory. In 2024, Flagstone recorded its second consecutive year of profitability as revenue grew 48% to £55 million and the platform's assets under administration increased by £1 billion a quarter to end the year at £16 billion. In the same period, Flagstone customers generated cumulative returns of more than £500 million on their savings. Simon Merchant, Co-Founder & CEO of Flagstone, comments: 'Adding Darren to our executive team is a coup for Flagstone. In the last two years, Flagstone has achieved formidable growth and satisfied an enormous demand for better, simpler savings for hundreds of thousands of individual and business savers. But the job is only part-way done. Bank of England data tells us that three quarters of UK savers' money is languishing in low or no interest accounts**. Darren's experience and insight will help us invigorate more of these savers to take action with their money - particularly those for whom maximising returns on their money and minimising the risk of financial loss are equally imperative.' At Flagstone, Darren will oversee how the company increases the speed at which billions of pounds are added to the platform by savers every year. Working with marketing, data, product and technology colleagues, Darren will direct strategies around how Flagstone drives awareness of savings as an asset class in its own right, invests in digital marketing to reach the customers that Flagstone is best suited to support, and develops a superior user experience that customers don't ever want to give up. Darren Bentley, Chief Growth Officer, adds: 'Flagstone isn't just selling a great service, but waking savers up to a better way to achieve more with their money, with minimal risk and the simplicity of having access to hundreds of savings products in one place. But signing up more customers is only one of the key metrics for long-term sustained growth. Flagstone savers are trusting the business with their life savings. It's our duty to repay that loyalty with a first-rate experience and to continue to enhance our product and service.' Darren joins Flagstone from LumonPay, the currency exchange service serving 70,000 customers who transfer approximately £9 billion overseas across Europe and North America every year. Prior to Lumon Pay, Darren spent four years at online used car retailer, Cazoo, during which time the company reached £1.2 billion in revenue, selling 120,000 cars a year. Having achieved a second year of profitability and closed one of UK fintech's largest investment rounds in 2024, Flagstone is well positioned for significant growth. Over 2025 and into 2026, the company will launch a Cash ISA and hit milestones on its long-term product roadmap to automate a customer's savings process to maximise interest accrual and security protection.
