Business Live YouGov sales soar; Hipgnosis Shake-up; meta shares rise

The FTSE 100 will open at 8am. Companies with reports and trading updates today include YouGov, Revolution Beauty and Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Read the Friday 2 February Business Live Blog below.

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Revolution Beauty faces claims from investment house

Revolution Beauty has received a pre-action letter from investment trust Chrysalis Investments about potential claims.

The cosmetics group told shareholders the claims relate to Chrysalis’ purchase of Revolution Beauty shares in July 2021 and the sale of those shares in late 2022.

Revolution Beauty has disputed the allegations and said that Chrysalis has not initiated formal legal proceedings in relation to the matter.

Hipgnosis stir amid song fund dispute

Hipgnosis Songs Management (HSM), the investment adviser to the music royalty fund of the same name, said on Friday that its founder Mark Mercuriadis will hand over the CEO title to Chief Operating Officer Ben Katowski and take on the role of chairman.

This comes amid a dispute with the board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which is undergoing a strategic approach that could lead to it being wound down and its assets sold.

The board says a call option placed by HSM, which would give it the right to buy HSF’s assets, is damaging the value of the portfolio and discouraging potential buyers.

Facebook owner Meta to pay first dividend as three tech giants post bumper figures

Facebook owner Meta said it will pay its first dividend as the world’s three biggest tech companies posted bumper figures.

In an announcement last night, the social media giant proposed a DIV of $0.50 per share as a major incentive for investors.

It came as Meta reported revenues of £106 billion for 2023, up 16 per cent from a year earlier.

YouGov sales surge

YouGov is expected to meet profit forecasts after the data and research group’s sales accelerated in the second quarter following a slow start to the financial year.

The group said: ‘As we move into the second half of the financial year, the board is aware of the challenging market conditions and client budget pressures.

‘Customers are increasingly looking for high-quality, data-driven solutions, and while we continue to experience longer sales cycles, we remain confident in our products and our sales momentum, following a slow first quarter. , has increased significantly in the second quarter.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk