Ousted Endeavour CEO to miss bonuses, Petershill AuM rises in 2023

London open

The FTSE 100 is expected to open 48 points higher on Friday, having closed up 0.17% on Thursday at 7,459.09.

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Sébastien de Montessus, the former chief executive of Endeavour Mining who was abruptly sacked earlier this month for serious misconduct, is to miss out of $17.6m in bonuses and share awards, the FTSE 100 miner announced late on Thursday. Furthermore, the company said it is clawing back an additional $11.5m in share awards and bonuses paid in respect of the past three years' service.

Petershill Partners reported a gross fee-eligible assets under management (AuM) increase of $23bn in 2023 on Friday. The company said its partner-firm AuM reached $304bn, with a 7% year-on-year increase, and fee-paying partner-firm AuM rose to $221bn, showing 14% growth. Looking ahead to 2024, the firm anticipated organic gross fee-eligible AuM to range from $20bn to $25bn, and realisations of $5bn to $10bn, with an expectation that the $8bn of AuM not paying fees as of the fourth quarter of 2023 would convert to fee-paying AuM in 2024.

Promotional merchandise maker 4imprint Group said it expected annual earnings to be slightly above forecasts after a strong trading performance during 2023. Group revenue was forecast to rise 16% to $1.33bn with pre-tax profit of at least $140m, slightly above the upper end of the current range of analysts' forecasts and 2022’s $104m. Cash and bank deposits at the 2023 year-end were $105m, up from $87m.

Newspaper round-up

Jeremy Hunt has dangled the prospect of big tax cuts in his March budget, in what is seen as one of the last opportunities for the Conservatives to claw back Labour’s huge opinion poll lead. In his first public comments on his budget strategy, the chancellor made clear that only unexpected bad news would prevent him from answering the call from Tory MPs for a substantial giveaway before an expected autumn general election. – Guardian

The gold producer Endeavour Mining is to claw back more than $29m in pay and awards after firing its chief executive this month for alleged “serious misconduct” over allegations of a multimillion-dollar “irregular payment”. London-headquartered Endeavour said on Thursday that Sébastien de Montessus, who had led the FTSE 100 company since 2016, would be forced to forfeit $29.1m (£22.9m) in remuneration. – Guardian

A Norfolk couple have won a battle with one of the world’s richest men over the name of their home and gardening business. A tribunal ruled in favour of Victoria and Lawrence Osborne, L V Bespoke, this week after the French luxury goods giant LVMH launched a trademark dispute against the couple. LVMH, whose brands include Louis Vuitton and Dior, is owned by Bernard Arnault who vies with Elon Musk for title of the world’s richest man. – Telegraph

Google has announced a billion-dollar investment in a UK data centre in a move hailed by the government as a “huge vote of confidence in Britain”. The data centre, which will be built on a 33-acre site in Hertfordshire, will power Google’s cloud and AI services for British customers and will be the company’s third big site around the capital, after King’s Cross and Central Saint Giles in London. – The Times

Recycling Lives processes end-of-life vehicles for scrap metal, as well as electronic waste for customers such as BT, British Gas and Sharp. The company, which was owned by Three Hills Capital Partners, a private equity firm, appointed EY as administrator to its metals business, which ­employs more than 300 people, with most of those transferring on Thursday to a new, undisclosed owner via a pre-pack administration. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks were higher at the end of trading on Thursday as major indices reclaimed some of their recent losses.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.54% at 37,468.61, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.88% to 4,780.94 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.35% stronger at 15,055.65.

The Dow closed 201.94 points higher on Thursday, reclaiming losses recorded in the previous session.

Market participants have grown worried that a strong December retail sales report could result in fewer-than-anticipated rate cuts from the central bank, with traders currently pricing in an approximately 56% chance of a quarter percentage point rate cut in March.

Of note, the yield on the benchmark ten-year Treasury note was up almost four basis points at the close of trading to sit at 4.146% following some fresh jobs data.