BUSINESS LIVE YouGov sales accelerate; Hipgnosis shake-up; Meta shares soar

The sacked boss of gold miner Endeavour has been accused of sexual misconduct by former employees.

Sebastien de Montessus, ousted last month over an irregular £4.6million payment, was also hit with harassment claims.

YouGov anticipates meeting annual forecasts following a ‘resilient’ first half, which saw sales momentum accelerate in the second quarter after a slow start to its financial year.

The market research organisation reported like-for-like turnover increased in the six months ending January when accounting for costs from mergers and acquisitions and currency headwinds.

Elon Musk has said Tesla will look to move the company’s legal base to Texas – just days after a Delaware judge denied him the biggest corporate payday in history.

The billionaire said the electric car maker will hold a shareholder vote to transfer the group’s state of incorporation.

Investing over many years eventually reaches a ‘tipping point’ where your returns double what you’ve put in to date, highlights new research from Interactive Investor.

In a powerful argument for investing long term, compound growth can account for an ever larger share of your portfolio or pension fund over the years.

Ferrari shares rocketed as the Italian car maker posted profits of more than £1billion for the first time and signed Lewis Hamilton.

Profits rose 34 per cent to almost £1.1billion last year as rich customers forked out on bespoke features. Total car sales rose 3.3 per cent to 13,663.

High street bank TSB says it will cut jobs and close branches this year.

The lender’s Spanish owner Sabadell announced a £29m restructuring plan on the same day that Deutsche Bank revealed it will axe 3,500 roles.

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

In an announcement last night, the social media giant proposed a divi of $0.50 per share in a major boost for investors.

Mecca Bingo is gearing up for its busiest day in years as punters flock to their halls on Mother’s Day.

John O’Reilly, chief executive of Mecca owner Rank Group, is eyeing bumper trade as families celebrate on March 10.

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

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

Revolution Beauty has contested the allegations and said Chrysalis has not commenced formal legal proceedings regarding the matter.

Hipgnosis Songs Management (HSM), the investment adviser to the eponymous music royalties fund, said on Friday its founder Merck Mercuriadis would handover the CEO’s position to chief operating officer Ben Katovsky, and take on the role of chairman.

It comes amid a spat with the board of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, which is undergoing a strategic view that could see it wound up and its assets sold.

The board say a call option held by HSM, which would entitle it to buy HSF’s assets, is hurting the value of the portfolio and putting off potential buyers.

YouGov expects to meet profit forecasts after the data and research group saw sales momentum accelerate in the second quarter after a slow start to its financial year.

The group said: ‘The board remains cognisant of the challenging market conditions and client budget pressures as we move into the second half of the financial year.

‘Clients 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 which, after a slow Q1, has significantly accelerated in Q2.’