Moulding blasts laughable market regulation as THG share price swings again
THG founder Matthew Moulding has blasted the London Stock Exchange and the weakness of the Financial Conduct Authority in another of his robust LinkedIn posts.
Describing THG’s time on the public markets as “a bitter experience” he claims the regulators need to focus on genuine misconduct, rather than supporting and protecting the hedge funds and pundits he blames for tanking THG’s share price since the business floated in 2020 at a valuation of £5.4billion.
Once again THG’s share price has fluctuated wildly this week, peaking at 120p on Thursday on continued market speculation on a potential bid from American private equity investor Apollo.
He confirmed that he has contributed to a study undertaken by Lord Hill into City governance and welcomed the changes proposed.
However, he wasted no time in railing at the lack of regulation around major City scandals, calling for a beefed up and better resourced regulator to tackle “well-known bad actors using the LSE as their private piggy bank.”
“From THG’s own bitter experience, even though you receive these approvals, anyone not adopting the 1930s-style LSE practices of old is fed to the meat grinder. Hedge Funds, with the help of friendly Pundits and Analysts, argue any deviations as bad practice, wrongdoing, or an evil force.
“It’s laughable. Where were all the Hedge Funds, Analysts and Pundits ahead of Tesco’s £250m accounting scandal a few years ago? Or when BT recently had a similar issue in its Italian subsidiary? How did these LSE governance structures prevent the 2008 banking scandals, PPI or Libor rigging? And WANdisco a few weeks ago – really?
“There are barely 200 companies on the LSE with at least £1bn market cap, and none of the “highly skilled” City professionals noticed the alleged massive fraud in WANdisco, as one of London’s 200 most valuable. It’s not like it’s a complex business – after a decade on the LSE it had c£10m in revenues, and then suddenly announced revenues didn’t exist after all.”
Citing the 2000 reported abuses of market rules, Moulding said the weak governance was down to the make up of the FCA’s own advisory panel which he said is made up of the very people it is policing in the City. “Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas,” he said.
There is a discussion about Moulding and THG on the current episode of the the Manchester weekly podcast from The Mill.
