CELTIC AGM FALLOUT: DESMOND IN TROUBLE AS MORE SHARES SOLD
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 29 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Before I begin today, a disclaimer. Every statistic I’m about to provide is available via publicly searchable information on the London Stock Exchange.
I have some thoughts as to the implications of these share trades. However, as someone who struggled for years just to understand the ending of the film “Trading Places”, I am not a financial expert.
Unlike the Celtic Board though, I do have something of a sense for “reading the room”, and it seems yesterday’s disastrous Celtic AGM has had immediate repercussions at the corporate level.
In Response to Celtic AGM Fallout, Lindsell Train Cuts Their Investment, Again
Celtic’s second largest shareholder, the investment firm Lindsell Train last night offloaded £465,000 worth of shares. This reduces their overall shareholding from 15.7% to 14.88%. This comes just 6 weeks after they reduced their prior shareholding from 16.4% to 15.7%.
This is small fry to a company valued in the billions, but in terms of the power balance at Celtic Park, this could have massive implications moving forward.
I previously reported in the immediate aftermath of the largest shareholder (not the owner) of Celtic, Dermot Desmond’s decision to use official club media to launch an ego-driven, potentially defamatory, tirade against departed manager Brendan Rodgers, that Lindsell Train, the clandestine investment fund that has, to date, unconditionally backed Desmond’s positions at every AGM reduced their shareholding, albeit slightly.
However, at the time, Lindsell Trains Shareholding, combined with that of Dermot Desmond still gave them, collectively, more than 50% of voting rights at the AGM, albeit the margins were significantly reduced.
I speculated at the time, that this may have been a polite warning from Lindsell Train, for Desmond to “wind his neck in” as it were.
Lindsell Train have no emotional connection to Celtic, they exist for the sole purpose of providing maximum returns for their stockholders on their investments.
The chaos overseen by a belligerent Desmond and his underlings on the Celtic board since this summer’s disastrous transfer window, have impacted Celtic’s commercial revenues, which will, in turn impact the level of return Lindsell Train can offer their investors.
So, in short, it’s not a good look for them to be seen to unconditionally back an increasingly disconnected, and increasingly volatile minority shareholder who thinks he’s master of all he surveys.
However, if there’s one thing we all know about Dermot Desmond, it’s that he does not take kindly to being held accountable by anyone.
Hence why he opted to play the nepotism card yesterday and send his son Ross to face the wrath of shareholders while he probably went and played a quiet 18 holes somewhere far from all the “riff-raff”.
Clearly Lindsell Train were not impressed by this, nor will they be particularly happy at another member of the Desmond cartel launching a further, slanderous, and utterly baseless attack on Celtic supporters (or the customers of the business, in the eyes of investors) whilst the supposed leaders of our club, Chief Executive Michael Nicholson, and Chairman Peter Lawwell just sat there nodding along like the good, obedient little lap dogs they are.
The way I see it two things could happen here. Lindsell Train may divest from Celtic completely, in a phased removal of their shares, with several, similar sales over the next few months. Get away from the fire before the whole house burns down, as it were.
Or, this could be part of their own scheme to put Dermot Desmond and his 34.7% of shares in their proper context.
The AGM is over now, and Desmond is safe for at least another year, barring a miraculous surge in new investment into Celtic.
However, crucially, he may not have the combined majority he previously enjoyed.
The combined shareholding of Dermot Desmond, and Lindsell Train now sits below 50%.
However, another unknown entity spent approximately half a million pounds on Thursday morning to acquire their own small tranche of Celtic shares.
We do not know who this is, and indeed we may never know if the person chooses to remain out of the public eye.
I’ll be honest, when I saw this investment news on Thursday, I thought, given the relatively small amount to the average stock trader, that this was perhaps someone taking a punt. They were betting that something was going to happen at the AGM, maybe a new manager announcement or the departure of an unpopular board member, that would cause the Celtic share price to temporarily spike.
However, taken in tandem with Lindsell Train’s maneuvers last night, this whole thing takes on a totally new level of intrigue. Is someone about to make a move against Dermot Desmond? Are Lindsell Train just getting out of the way before yet more corporate carnage ensues?
These questions and more will have to be answered, and soon. Those answers will not come via some condescending comments from the beneficiary of a billionaire's nepotism.