ShareSoc in the News

This page lists references to ShareSoc in the press and broadcast media.

FT, 21 Oct 2020, UK Dividends cuts deliver another blow to investors

The FT https://www.ft.com/content/0dc67672-7c6f-441a-a069-05f4828b0b2d reported on dividends' cuts including quotes from Cliff Weight of ShareSoc, 'Investor groups said they supported companies being “prudent”, but were worried about payouts. “Many private investors will be relying on dividends to fund their retirement,” said Cliff Weight, director of ShareSoc, a pressure group for small investors. He also pointed to what looked like an unsustainable situation before the pandemic, when dividends had been rising ever higher. “Everyone knew it was unlikely to continue.” '  I had a chat ...

The Times, 17 Oct 2020, Talktalk criticised over Toscafund takeover bid

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/talktalk-criticised-over-takeover-bid-9s6mptqgl Cliff Weight, director of individual investor campaigning at Sharesoc, which represents retail shareholders, said that it likes companies where the directors have “skin in the game” and “prima facie it looks like Dunstone and Ross will act in the best interests of shareholders”. However, he added: “We would prefer if there were a majority of independent directors on the board of any quoted company, as one of the duties of directors is to ensure the rights of minority shareholders are respected. It ...

Daily Mail, 26 Sep 2020, Boohoo Bosses Face Calls to Quit

Cliff Weight, the director of ShareSoc, said: 'It is undoubtedly shocking that these kind of third world factories exist in the UK. Mahmud Kamani needs to step aside whilst the board reviews his position.' https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-8774083/Boohoo-bosses-face-calls-quit-wake-sweat-shop-scandal-report.html This report highlights numerous concerns for investors, not least the way the AIM "Lite-touch" Regulation can lead to some governance disasters. Boohoo has only £900m of turnover but has a Mkt cap of  £4.71B and trades on a P/E ratio of 69.95. Shares this year have been highly volatile and hit a ...

Daily Mail, 29 Aug 2020, The Hut Group under fire over £4.5bn listing

Cliff Weight, ShareSoc director writes: I am quoted in the Daily Mail today questioning the corporate governance of The Hut: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-8675511/The-Hut-Group-fire-4-5bn-listing.html Cliff Weight, director of small investors' campaign group ShareSoc, said: 'This is awful corporate governance and I personally would be very wary. 'Share classes that give one type of shareholder more powers than another devalue the secondary class and are therefore undesirable. 'And a 'founder's share' which gives an individual exceptional powers is completely contrary to good corporate governance. Such rights seriously damage board ...

CityAM, 28 Aug 2020, Share and Share Alike: Electronically?

CityAM article on modernising share ownership https://www.cityam.com/share-and-share-alike-electronically/ quotes Cliff Weight, director of ShareSoc, the individual shareholders’ campaigning group, [who] is likeminded, preferring dividends to be paid directly into his bank or share-trading platform account. He is similarly in favour of the move towards digital systems for paper share certificates, albeit with an important caveat. “An electronic system is needed, but it must pass on my ownership rights to vote and receive information – far too many trading platforms fail to pass on these ...

International Financial Law Review, 13 Aug 2020, SRDII won’t be delayed

https://www.iflr.com/article/b1mxkgkglk3pkx/primer-shareholder-rights-directive-ii quoted ShareSoc, Better Finance and Cliff Weight extensively in its primer on SRD II implementation. It noted that: ...A second letter co-authored by shareholder rights advocate groups including ShareSoc, the UK Shareholders Association (UKSA), the European Federation of Investors, and Better Finance, argued “It is clear that the pandemic is being used as an excuse to further delay implementation,” the letter reads. “Intermediaries have not been proactive in facilitating voting and communication. At this stage, [they] should already have been prepared and ready to ...

FT, 7 Aug 2020, Will Digital AGMs Replace Meeting Directors Over a Prawn Sandwich?

The article https://www.ft.com/content/293817d5-4d70-44c6-bf49-148b2baff59f quoted ShareSoc Patron Lord Lee and ShareSoc Director Cliff Weight: ...For some investors, the reason to attend an AGM is in the chance to interact with a company in person, lost in a virtual world. “The value is in the margins, over coffee before and in the half-hour afterwards over a buffet lunch or another coffee,” says Lord John Lee, the private investor and FT columnist [and ShareSoc Patron]. “The board will always stay around for a period to ...

Daily Mail, 29 July 2020, ShareSoc Criticises Vodafone Decision to List £18bn Towers Business in Frankfurt

Daily Mail: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-8569181/Vodafone-shareholders-miss-Frankfurt-float.html Shareholder campaign group criticises Vodafone decision to list £18bn towers business in Frankfurt rather than London Sharesoc said the move would make UK private investors less likely to take part in the float, and give the towers firm access to a smaller pool of capital... ...Cliff Weight, director of Sharesoc, said: 'Vodafone's roots are in Britain and it has a large number of British shareholders. They would much rather have shares in a UK-listed firm and will be more cautious about ...

Teesside Gazette, 1 July 2020, Sirius Minerals Shareholders Call for Inquiry

https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/news/teesside-news/sirius-minerals-shareholders-call-inquiry-18519344 quotes SiriusClaim Chairman Paul Anscombe in an article headed "Sirius Minerals shareholders call for inquiry after reports of minister's meeting with rival boss - Investors say they are still waiting for answers over why the Government refused to provide life-saving support" Paul Anscombe, chairman of the Sirius claim group, which is considering legal action on behalf of shareholders, said: “We would like to see a proper select committee inquiry into the process of Government support for Sirius Minerals and their application ...

FT, 11 June 2020, Coronavirus Casts Doubt on Future of AGMs

There is an excellent FT article on AGMs  https://www.ft.com/content/1209fa2f-30a9-4a16-bcee-65743814acc2 (11 June 2020) which quotes me in some detail: Cliff Weight, from the individual shareholders group ShareSoc, says he is concerned that some companies see AGMs as a “waste of time and unnecessary, apart from the formalities” required by law. He fears some will use the disruption caused by the pandemic to rubber stamp bad practices, such as by making it harder for investors to question the board. ShareSoc believes a move towards live AGM ...