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At the start of the year, billionaire businessman Mike Danson offloaded £55mn of GlobalData (DATA) stock in two chunks to “satisfy significant demand from new and existing institutional investors”. Shares in the Aim-traded group, which Danson forged from several data analytics companies in 2016, have risen by roughly 15 per cent since then.
Now Danson is at it again. On 29 August, he sold 10mn shares for £2.25 each, or a total of £22.5mn. No explanation was given this time, but liquidity likely remains at the forefront of investors’ minds given Danson still owns more than half of the group.
£37.8mnGlobalData’s six-month operating profit
GlobalData provides business intelligence for approximately 20 sectors as well as thematic research. It has recently entered a new stage of life, however, having agreed a “transformational investment agreement” with private equity firm Inflexion, which has acquired a 40 per cent stake in its healthcare business.
Once heavily indebted, GlobalData now sits on a cash pile of £188mn. Some of this will be funnelled into a £10mn share buyback, but Danson also has acquisition plans.
From an organic perspective, there were signs that GlobalData was under pressure at the half-year mark. Its value renewal rate, for example – which relates to its subscription products – fell from 98 per cent to 92 per cent in the first half of 2024, reflecting a “slightly softer performance on price increases and upsell and cross sell”. Volumes remained stable, however, and operating profit edged up 2 per cent to £37.8mn.
GlobalData is expected to publish its full-year results in March next year.
Victorian Plumbing boss trims stake
Victorian Plumbing (VIC) shares have risen by more than a fifth over the past year as the Aim-traded bathroom retailer battles through a challenging trading backdrop and looks to boost growth with the help of a new distribution centre.
The latest results were resilient but highlighted the impact of the increased cost of living and interest rate pressures on bathroom-related spending. For the six months to March 31 , revenue was flat on a 2 per cent rise in orders because of lower average order values.
But market share gains were made, and free cash flow improved by a third to £8.6mn.
£2.7mnValue of shares in Victorian Plumbing sold by CEO Mark Radcliffe last month
In the results, chief executive officer Mark Radcliffe hailed the £22.5mn May acquisition of former online retail rival Victoria Plumb (the similar name has caused headaches in the past) as an “exciting strategic milestone” which would help “accelerate our growth”.
That hasn’t quite worked out. Management’s expectation was that Victoria Plumb, whose former owner AHK Designs had been through an administration process last year, would break even in the second half following recent cost-cutting efforts. Instead, the business is being shuttered.
Meanwhile, a flagship new distribution centre in Lancashire should be operational by the end of September. The idea is to remove capacity constraints and boost growth categories like tiles, flooring and lighting.
Canaccord Genuity analyst Karl Burns said 2025 “could be the start of a step change” for the company. He thinks the distribution centre could feasibly double annual sales capacity to £600mn.
Radcliffe sold £2.7mn-worth of shares on August 23, taking his holding down to 47.7 per cent of issued share capital. The sale was to “help satisfy institutional demand”, the company said.
Victorian Plumbing trades on 17-times forward consensus earnings, a higher rating than the 13-times at B&Q owner Kingfisher (KGF) and 12-times at Wickes (WIX).
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