Purplebricks’ woes help deal a £1bn blow to flagship Woodford fund

| Neil Gerrard

High profile fund manager Neil Woodford, who owns over a quarter of Purplebricks’ shares, has endured a tough start to 2018, after his flagship fund plummeted by £1bn in value in the first five weeks of the year.

The Woodford’s Equity Income fund fell from £8.2bn at the start of January to under £7.2bn on Tuesday this week.

Stakes in Purplebricks, whose share price was dented by a bombshell report from Jefferies analyst Anthony Codling, and outsourcer Capita, whose share price has also been under pressure following the collapse of Carillion, were the driving force behind the poor performance this year, according to City AM.

The fund also has a stake in troubled doorstep lender Provident Financial.

Last August, shares in the Bradford-based Provident fell by almost 70%, one of the biggest ever one-day sell-offs in FTSE 100 history.

Woodford’s fund also shrank £2bn in value between last May and December, the publication has reported.

A spokesman for the fund manager said: “Neil’s funds have at times underperformed the broader market because of a contrarian view.

“This is not the first time his funds have suffered redemptions.”

Purplebricks’ share price has dropped around 15% since the end of January, when it was at 489.8p

It closed yesterday at 412p, down 1.44% for the day.

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26 Comments

  1. dompritch134
    February 9, 2018 at 06:55

    Purplebricks share ticker back again.

    even this new guy is in on the act.

    Report
  2. dompritch134
    February 9, 2018 at 06:56

    How about reporting the 6 month average or the  3 month average?

    oh no it’s not in the agenda, lazy journalism at its best.

    Report
  3. JustPlainSavage04
    February 9, 2018 at 06:56

    Fugayzi, fugazi, it’s a whazy, it’s a woozy

    Report
    1. ProTog45
      February 9, 2018 at 09:10

      Now there’s great band!

      Report
  4. David M
    February 9, 2018 at 07:40

    Morning Dom,

    How are you today?

    I have always been taught & preach that when someone has an idea or opinion its best to respond with a positive and negative to demonstrate you understand the situation and are not carrying your own personal agenda.

    Now I may have missed it but I have always seen very Pro-PurpleBricks  comments;  could you do me a favour (amuse me you might say) …..”What is your biggest criticism of PurpleBricks??

    Cheers
    David

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    1. dompritch134
      February 9, 2018 at 07:43

      morning David I’m typing this on a flight 1hr from Gatwick.
      Do you not find it strange that we have almost daily SP articles on PB? And mainly when we see a drop, for instance PB has seen a 35% increase this year in its SP yet no mention on here?
      just the insatiable desire of click baiting.

      Report
      1. David M
        February 9, 2018 at 07:50

        Clearly more successful than me…..I can only afford to use a train to get to the office…..
        Ok I can see you missed my request so I’ll give it another go…..”What is your biggest criticism of PurpleBricks??”
        And I actually disagree about the share prices commentary  – I enjoy and appreciate it.  I keep a close idea on the market performance of my competitors wither it me CWD, PURP or FOXT as it allows me to understand what to expect from them in terms of agression in the market place.   For example, when PURP shares drop, they turn up their media advertising to ensure positive perception from shareholders/investors, which has a knock on into my local marketplace.

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        1. dompritch134
          February 9, 2018 at 07:51

          PB advertising campaign has no parallels with share price, that is a very odd assumption.
           

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          1. dompritch134
            February 9, 2018 at 07:53

            I can’t seem to edit that last comment, but PB daily Or weekly SP fluctuations do not determine the advertising spend.

            Report
            1. Robert May
              February 9, 2018 at 08:01

               A change of device or IP does that Dom, you’ve landed?

              Report
          2. David M
            February 9, 2018 at 07:59

            Ok , you have ignored my request once more…..i’m thinking you are doing it deliberately now……
             
            If you think that media campaigns have no link to share prices & fund-raising then I am not sure you have the business credentials to making the comments that you do, unless you know more about the inner workings of PB towers of course…….
            Historically creating an impression of success and domination has always be a way of ensuring maximum investment.

            Report
            1. dompritch134
              February 9, 2018 at 08:17

              Please read my reply again as I made it quite clear I could not edit my original comment.
              anyhow time for immigration.

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              1. David M
                February 9, 2018 at 08:26

                What I am asking is really simple……….
                ”What is your biggest criticism of PurpleBricks??
                 
                …..
                Come on Dom …you’ve got this….

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      2. Robert May
        February 9, 2018 at 07:53

        If you’ve been away you will have missed  that this was the lead story on  CityAM and there has been coverage in Private Eye too.

        So what do you reckon are they in on the act too?

         

         

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        1. P-Daddy
          February 9, 2018 at 10:00

          To act as the voice of reason and balance on this, the headlines are designed to provoke! Woodford and his funds were set up amidst guns and glory off the back of a top performance pedigree and his mere presence on share holder registers was enough to move the price with all the little PI’s piling in.

          His star is not so bright now and indeed there are many in the city and city editors who are now questioning whether his funds too are the emperors new clothes…and they are crowing. He accepts that he has some problem investments and defends his choices by the fact that these are in the Patient Capital and Equity funds…so people need to be patient….its just that the patience is being severely tested! The following link shows the holdings. https://woodfordfunds.com/funds/weif/portfolio/

          He was an early investor in PB and provided seed capital of around £25m I seem to recall and so the drops in SP compared to his entry level are not a worry, he is massively in profit. However, now that questions are being asked of PB business model, the falls have removed some of the comfort the fund has from its profits. PB is in the news, so is Capita and anything where the comparison can be drawn with Carillion and its demise gets lineage. Do you think the story would be as interesting if the lead in City AM etc said Woodford Funds asset value falls due to exposure to RM2…I think not. Now that 1 is ugly but it is a company that manufactures reusable pallets!! You get the point no doubt, but he is the largest single investor owning nearly a third of the company which was floated at a price of 88p and today is trading at about 1.5 p! There are others Raven Russia has lost 50% of its value and they own Russian warehouses and god knows what they are used for 🙂 …..the list goes on.

          Time will tell how the Purple people will fare..especially as a call centre business with Uber type self employed experts..just wait until they claim holiday entitlement and it appears they are all employed by 1 company and not strictly self employed…..tick tock tick tock booooomm!

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      3. Property Pundit
        February 9, 2018 at 10:12

        ‘just the insatiable desire of click baiting’

        Yet you can’t resist to bite. See how it works yet?

        Report
  5. AgencyInsider
    February 9, 2018 at 07:51

    The dom is on a plane. Who’s up for sponsoring him to do a parachute jump? Without the parachute.

    Report
    1. smile please
      February 9, 2018 at 07:57

      Thats just mean.

      Happy to throw in £50 to get the ball rolling 😉

      Report
      1. Hillofwad71
        February 9, 2018 at 08:05

        Well with comments like these  wishing death  to  a poster with a contrarian view that maybe the public’s perception of  estate agents  is not all together unfounded .

        Report
        1. AgencyInsider
          February 9, 2018 at 08:11

          Take a long walk off a short pier Hillofwad.
          Oh no! I have wished death on you too! Will my murderous spree never end?!

          Report
    2. AgentV
      February 9, 2018 at 08:26

      Everyone watch this….it’s unmissable!!!

      https://youtu.be/DgkhAysnRNY

      Report
      1. AgencyInsider
        February 9, 2018 at 08:31

        Fantastic! What bravery and skill.
        Now, if we are using that net today I shall need to go and find me scissors…

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  6. Philosopher2467
    February 9, 2018 at 08:32

    Now, now chaps! Play nice!

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  7. Philosopher2467
    February 9, 2018 at 08:38

    All will become apparent in due course. Watchdog et al do not look to ‘stick the boot in’ to an enterprise without good reason. Paying a ‘grand’ for less than. 50/50 chance of selling your house is ok as long as you are 100% transparent about what you can and also as important, what you can’t do! PB share price should be of concern to no one other than those that have invested. Those that know this business know that it doesn’t add up and just want to see honesty in the marketing and all that goes with it or, am I wrong??

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  8. Essjaydee51
    February 9, 2018 at 09:27

    Once again dom, seriously!

    nobody, absolutely nobody is interested in an average share price over a week month or quarter, we as agents want to know the share movement, up or down of our competitors as it is an indication of perception and success or of course lack of it.

    investors themselves and that includes me, want to know the sp so as to make an informed decision on holding, selling or investing more and if I call for that info and they say well the average price is this, I’ll likely ask to speak to someone that works in the day to day world and not someone working in the past but perhaps I’m being unkind to historians, would that be where your skills lie dom? In the past

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  9. Property Paddy
    February 9, 2018 at 10:33

    so Mr Woodford lost £1bn

    Haven’t we all misplaced our wallet down the back of the sofa?  I know I have.

    Anyhoo! Purplebonnets are clearly doing really well, they must be, their share price is holding way over any thing I could have ever imagined.  Question what is their dividend going to be? Will they have a dividend? Would I be better off putting my money in a deposit account? Should I just give my money to ladbrooks?

    answers on a postcard to “dompritch134 ” who’s last comment would suggest he knows something: “anyhow time for immigration.”

    See above.!!!

    Report
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