Peter Hargreaves sells £500m worth of shares
Co-founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, Peter Hargreaves, has announced he will sell £500m worth of shares in the investment platform via an accelerated bookbuild offering.
The purpose of the offering is to enable Hargreaves to diversify his assets.
“I have decided to sell some of my shares in Hargreaves Lansdown. This is part of a process of long-term financial planning to diversify my assets. I remain, and will continue to be, a substantial shareholder in Hargreaves Lansdown,” he said.
It is understood that he continues to hold £2.5bn worth of shares in the company.
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Hargreaves recently set up a £100m foundation based in Bristol to help disadvantaged children, which will be headed up by HL’s former head of new business Alexandra Butler.
Last week the company reported profit before tax had climbed 12 per cent in the first half of the year to £171m but net new business fell nine per cent to £2.31bn.
This came despite the company’s support of Neil Woodford’s equity income fund. Hargreaves Lansdown continued to recommend to investors right up until it was gated on 3 June 2019 after becoming overwhelmed by withdrawals.
The gating of the fund affected over 290,000 Hargreaves Lansdown investors.
Shares closed 2.68 per cent lower to £1,708.50, its lowest point in six months.