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Both the BBC and ITV, on their flag ship 10 o’clock news bulletins, last night called out racism.
They lead again this morning on their morning shows. The talk radio shows are talking about nothing else. Everyone understands wrong has been done.
Every newspaper calls out racism on the front page.
Howdens have a royal warrant, the Prince of Wales from 3000 miles away commented “racism has no place in our society”
This week the fire brigade came under scrutiny has have many other large organisations about institutional racism. When you have been on the receiving end you see it for what it is. When Howdens legal department says that bullying in busy times is acceptable you see institutional racism for what it is. Having white entitled people, who do not understand the hurt inflicted, telling you that you are wrong is, in fact, more evidence that you are right.
Howdens pay their “pet ******” over £100k year. The shares lose over £2 billion in under a year. In the civilised world, where right and wrong matter, it is easy to join the dots. A 5-year-old could see this, cause and causation. This Howdens board is colour blind. They continue to defend the undefendable and the rest of us (Yes, I am a shareholder) pay the price.
This weeks scorecard
5 days down 42.60p Loss to investors £236 million
1 Month Down 50p Loss to investors £278 Million
6 Months Loss to investors £1.55 Billion
Since Xmas eve 2021 Loss to investors £2.41B
On Christmas Eve last year a heart-breaking review was posted on Google’s work-related review site, Glassdoor. It documented continual, sustained, serious and degrading racial bullying by a Howdens’ middle manager. An initial comment on Glassdoor by Howdens HR department was “that this (the review) was difficult to read”. That said the abuse has since been fully defended, supported and unbelievably, encouraged by Howdens’ own legal department. This for every investors is a very troubling endorsements in days where black lives are supposed to matter! Howdens share price has dropped spectacularly, falling almost 50% since that damming review appeared.
Howdens senior managers continues to defend the indefensible. Howdens policy of sitting on their hands and protecting this despicable manager, is costing shareholders dearly. This is Howdens busiest time, a time, historically when the share price climbs.
With approximately 556 million shares in circulation, what is Howdens active support of this bully really costing investors?
Today the shares continued their decline, down 32.3p, cost to investors £180 million.
Yesterday the shares fell (of course), down 29p, cost to investors £161 million.
Since the Christmas Eve time stamp Howdens shares have plummeted, down a whopping £4.37. Today the price has dropped below £5.00. So, there you have it the true cost of racism, the true cost of defending a bully £2.43 Billion. I am certain all shareholders agree, this manager must be a very valuable and highly productive manger to be worth, to this board, that eye watering amount of money.
Here is this week scorecard
1. 5 Days Down 7.75p
2. 1 Month Down 33.15p
3. 6 Month Down 221.55p
4. Year to date Down 379.55p
That 100’s of millions of pounds the board have lost investors just this year!!!
As a nation is “allowed” to mourn the death of it’s Queen the death of it’s “grandmother” yet again Howdens shareholders are made to pay the price for bullying.
It is hard to believe looking at the record that not a single analyst this year recommended a sell of Howdens shares, not even one. Let’s look at the disastrous record:-
1. Last 5 days down 21p
2. Last month down 67p
3. Last 6 months down 255p
4. This year down 381p
The stock market misses nothing, the market understands what is going on. The market priced into the share price a letter from Howdens legal department stating that in busy times bullying (of all types) is acceptable behaviour. The true value of this letter is still to be ascertained. There has been no attempt made to retrieve this letter, no attempt made to put the situation right. Whilst shareholders continue to pay the heavy price of continued poor and bad management.
We must ask how all the analysts missed this. Some said buy as the share fell and fell and fell again, a few said hold not one predicted this mighty fall from grace. It reminds me of the movie “The Big Short” where almost everyone was looking in the wrong direction.
Matthew Ingle was, without doubt, the Sir Alex Ferguson of Howdens. He built, from nothing, Howdens Joinery, he knew the team, he knew all his players.
He was personally invested in his team; he was invested in Howdens success. His team thrived and succeeded. Retirment was inevitable and well deserved.
Along comes a replacement manager, it is without doubt a hard act to follow. The culture, the ethos, the history all needing to be understood.
Small missteps from the start. His legal team send out a letter saying all forms of bullying are acceptable in busy times.
The letter is out there, left to stand, left to fester. The advocate no doubt praised, certainly defended, for her public statement.
A ****** bully, defended by "his" legal team, who does not deny his actions is allowed to go unchecked and flourish.
Shares, riding high, fall by almost 50%.
Demotion from the prestigious FTSE100.
This manager is doing well. All we need now is a vote of confidence in him to secure his continued future....
So, there you have it. A small price to pay to protect a ****** element. Howdens are set to drop out of the FTSE 100 despite record turnover and record profits. It does appear that rather than dealing with the underlaying and still present racial bullying elements in their organisation the board choose to allow shareholders and pension funds to take all the pain and drop out of the FTSE100. Shareholders yet again are made to pay the price for inaction. Those of us in the know saw this coming, stood up and spoke about it. The relatively new management chose apathy and did absolutely nothing. In 2022 this bullying behaviour is unacceptable except of course in the Howdens universe. Shame on you Andrew Livingstone for costing shareholders dear.
****** bullying is unacceptable in a civilized world. The financial stock market continues to punish Howdens and its shareholders for allowing, protecting and supporting the lowest of the low in society. Shares now below £6.00 down £3.85 since the despicable story first broke. How much lower will the shares go, what will the final cost be to shareholders, before the guilty abusers are finally held to account? Its time for the institutional investors to flex their muscle and put a stop to the rot.
Since the claims of bullying hit the internet on Christmas eve last year confidence in the company and the shares have plummeted by over 30%. The board chose not to investigate not to punish, rather they said this, in 2022, is our business ethic bullying is at the core of what we do. Share holders carry on paying the price of defending the indefensible. Andrew Livingston sold 119,304 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 713, for a total value of £850,637.52 good to see he is OK!!
So ladies and gentleman there you have it. Record sales, record profits. So why are all our shares, uniquely in the history of the company, worth less today than they were 365 days ago?
I am sad to say that to me this comes as no great surprise.
The stewardship of the current board has a lot to answer for. The claims of racial abuse on social media are costing us, the shareholders, millions of pounds.
A manager who told a member of staff from an ethnic background not to go to a meeting because he could not stand being in the same room as him (not denied), unbelievably still in a job.
A legal department, who represents this board, putting in writing:- racial abuse and racial bullying in busy times does happen and is acceptable behaviour. The advocate who wrote that letter still at her desk.
There is nowhere in the world where these despicable and deplorable actions are acceptable, except of course in the Howdens world.
How bad does the evidence need to be, how vindictive do the actions have to be for these matters to be delt with in a correct and appropriate manner?
Noticeably this has only occurred since the new management team took over in 2018. We all know Matthew Ingle's morals and sense of decency and fair play would never, ever, have tolerated these outrages acts.
The damage inflicted on the share price means the AGM next month will be an interesting meeting.
So, another week of the shares continuing their downwards spiral .
Since the initial claims of bullying surfaced on Christmas Eve 2021 shareholders are the ones who have truly paid the price.
If the claim is correct, that, at the intervention of the investor relations department the legal department sent a letter stating
that "in busy times bullying is acceptable behavior" then the cost of a class action litigation from ex-employees could run into the millions.
As was widely reported Howdens recently paid a seven figure fine for doing the wrong thing, this looks like it could be going in the same direction.
Maybe, behind the scenes, Howdens factor these things in as a day-to-day cost of doing business.
The manager, who bullied a member of staff whilst he was seeing his Nan through her final days, is a disgrace to Howdens.
Even worse, with those view and that attitude this "manager" is a disgrace to the human race.
We now start to see the cost shareholders are paying for Howdens protection of this bully, the company shares have lost almost a billion pounds.
The value of the company has dropped by 25%, every day the loses are mounting.
Howdens need to do the right thing, quickly before things get even worse.
Another two weeks of stock losses.
Since the public reports appeared of racial bullying shareholders have lost over £400 million.
The infamous letter from Howdens legal department saying bullying was acceptable behaviour, it now appears, was only sent after the intervention of Howdens own investor relations department.
This letter was sent to a shareholder not an employee.
The board supported by the investor relations department seem happy to let shareholders pay the price for a rotten core element within the business.
This year’s AGM will be an interesting meeting.
Since the abuse report hit www.glassdooor.com the share price has dropped over 15% the media is full of these stories Howdens need to stop defending the indefensible, stop blaming the victim. They should hold a full investigation The shares are now in free fall over 1% off (again) already today
In this climate, in these times, reports of racial bullying and institutional racism are being voiced and heard in more and more places.
One of the country’s largest recruitment web sites www.glassdoor.co.uk has a heartbreaking report of such an incident. The bullying and abuse (the report says) was instigated by a middle manager, it was fully supported by the HR department and vigorously defended in writing by the Howdens legal department. This is a massive stain on their reputation. Howdens response on www.glassdoor.co.uk is: - “this makes difficult reading” It does appear that the middle manager was supported and kept his job!
Should shareholders be concerned by such reports on respected websites or is it a factored in cost of doing business?
Should I worry about my stock holding? Before Sir Phillip Green was named yesterday in parliament for bullying and racial abuse against his staff I actually wondered, from paperwork I have seen, if the unnamed CEO was actually Howdens chairman Matthew Ingle. There is currently an outstanding tribunal claim by a BAME manager claiming abuse took place in public at an Indian restaurant in Surrey amidst further allegations of abuse against BAME restaurant staff allegedly for not having Mateus Rose. All this information is known by the Howdens HR team and my understanding is the tribunal paperwork is already in the public domain.
With all the hype around Sir Phillip and the #metoo campaign do you think when the tribunal convene on this matter later this year that, any, press hysteria may adversely affect the Howdens share price?