● Jeremy Hunt should “pull the plug” on a big retail sale of NatWest’s shares, says Nils Pratley in The Guardian. The state has reduced its stake in NatWest from 84% to under 27% over the years; 11% has been sold during the past five months.
Shares have been “dribbled” into the market (and bought by institutional investors) so as not to disturb the price and achieve full value. “Why mess with this winning formula?” Brokers have suggested that a 10% discount would be required to entice punters. So with an estimated £3bn offer, the Treasury could be giving away £300m of value compared with the market price. That would waste public money. It is best to stick to the “trading plan”.
● “If the proof of the pudding is in the eating, then Raspberry Pi is already an appetite-pleaser,” says Lex in the Financial Times. The British microcomputer maker plans a £500m initial public offering (IPO) in London in early June. It will be a boon for the London Stock Exchange amid demands for more technology and growth companies to go public. The number of tech stocks on the exchange is shrinking. Raspberry Pi, which started as an educational start-up, now fulfils the technological requirements of manufacturing businesses. While its initial focus was on enthusiasts and hobbyists, sales to companies now account for 70% of revenue. The firm has shifted towards fuller control of supply chains and direct distribution, bolstering revenue and profits. When the growth rate
