Hargreaves Lansdown plc is a British financial services company based in Bristol, England. It sells funds, shares and related products to retail investors in the United Kingdom. It is the largest investment platform in the UK.[3] The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
History
The company was founded on 1 July 1981[4] by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown who had initially traded from a bedroom.[5] Hargreaves Lansdown initially provided information to clients on unit trusts and tax planning matters.[6] Now, the company has grown to be one of the largest in Bristol, located at One College Square, Harbourside.[7]
The company was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in May 2007, with the company's two founders then holding combined stakes equivalent to 80% in the business.[8] In April 2009, Lansdown sold a stake of 4.7% for a sum of £47.2million to put towards the cost of building Bristol City F.C.'s new football stadium, reducing his stake to 22.9%.[9]
In October 2022, the company's chief executive Chris Hill announced his departure from the business.[10] In December 2022, Dan Olley was appointed as the company's chief executive.[11] Upon appointment, Olley ceased his role as a non-executive director on the company's board, which he had been since 2019.[11]
In July 2023, it was announced that the Chair, Deanna Oppenheimer, would be stepping down. Her decision followed criticism from the company’s co-founder Peter Hargreaves over the firm's rising costs and a falling share price.[12]
Woodford Investment Management
In 2019, Hargreaves Lansdown suffered reputational damage when trading was suspended in Woodford Investment Management's Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF), which Hargreaves Lansdown had been promoting through its Wealth 50 list despite concerns about the fund's investment strategy and underperformance.[13][14] In October 2019, retired founder Peter Hargreaves, still the owner of 32% of Hargreaves Lansdown, was reported to say:
It’s annoyed the hell out of me that it would appear he [Neil Woodford] has not been truthful with Hargreaves Lansdown. But it’s also annoyed me that they [Hargreaves Lansdown] let it go on so long ... The clients have been stuffed in this horrible Woodford fund.[15]
Of some 300,000 people who had invested in the WEIF, 130,000 invested through Hargreaves Lansdown.[16] In October 2022, claims firm RGL filed a High Court claim on behalf of an initial 3,200 investors against Hargreaves Lansdown.[17] By November 2024, RGL said the number of people suing Hargreaves Lansdown had almost doubled in two years, to over 5,000, and could reach 10,000 by March 2025.[16] Hargreaves Lansdown had rejected the first set of RGL claims in 2022 "for lack of a substantive basis of claim".[16]
Acquisition offer
In August 2024, the company's board agreed to an acquisition by CVC Capital Partners, Nordic Capital and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority in a deal that valued the business at £5.4 billion.[18] As part of the deal, shares would be valued at £11.40.[3] The company will delist from the London Stock Exchange upon completion of the deal.[3] The deal was backed by founders Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown.[3] Hargreaves announced he would sell half of his 20 per cent shareholding, rolling over the rest into the future private company.[3] Lansdown intended to sell his full 6 per cent shareholding.[3] In October 2024, 87 per cent of the company's shareholders voted in favour of the deal.[19]
Operations
The HL platform enables investors to hold different types of investments together in one place with one valuation and dealing service. Available products include ISA, SIPP, and a Fund & Share dealing account. The company also operates multi-manager unit trusts each of which in turn own a share in a number of underlying funds, as well as its own internally managed equity funds under the HL Select brand.[20] The group also provides financial advisory, stockbroking and annuity broking services to private investors and advice to companies on group pension schemes. The company also offers a currency service, enabling investors to access exchange rates and send money abroad.[21]
Hargreaves Lansdown is UK's largest direct-to-investor investment platform. In August 2024 it had almost 1.9million customers and oversaw assets worth £155billion.[18]
