Hargreaves Lansdown’s chief govt will stop after six years main the UK’s largest funding platform, as the corporate makes an attempt to persuade traders it may possibly ship on formidable plans for tech-fuelled development.
Chris Hill, who has steered the FTSE 100 group since 2017, on Monday mentioned he would step down by November subsequent 12 months, giving the board time to discover a substitute.
The transfer comes after Hill in February outlined a five-year technique to take a position £175mn in upgrading the funding platform’s system and constructing a tech-led monetary recommendation service, funded partly by reducing dividends. Shares fell on the day of the announcement and are down 45 per cent over the previous 12 months.
“Having started the implementation of the next phase of the company’s growth, Chris has decided it is time to pass the reins to a new chief executive to continue to execute on this strategy and build on our market leading proposition,” mentioned Deanna Oppenheimer, chair.
News of the departure comes at a difficult time for the UK’s main funding platform, with greater than 1.7mn prospects. After having fun with a document inflow of latest cash as savers hoarded money within the Covid-19 pandemic, turbulence in monetary markets this 12 months has weighed on folks’s willingness to take a position.
The firm additionally faces a £100mn lawsuit filed this week over its promotion of Neil Woodford’s fund previous to the star stockpicker’s collapse in 2019, claims the group has rejected.
“The impact of the challenging macroeconomic and geopolitical backdrop on asset values, client confidence and propensity to invest has been seen across our industry,” Hill mentioned in a quarterly outcomes assertion on Monday.
Hargreaves Lansdown drew £700mn in web inflows within the third quarter, down by almost half from final 12 months. Revenues elevated 15 per cent to £163mn because the platform benefited from larger rates of interest on shoppers’ money balances.
Source: www.ft.com