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e k a m t o n t l a h s Thou "huge profits" During energy price spikes
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Home REIT to appoint new advisor CHARLIE CONCHIE
IT’S GOD VERSUS BIG OIL
CHURCH COMMISSIONERS AND PENSION BOARD SET TO VOTE AGAINST DIRECTORS DUE TO LACK OF CLIMATE PROGRESS NICHOLAS EARL THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND is set for a battle with the world’s biggest oil majors, as the organisation’s endowment fund and pension board both announced plans to vote against the re-election of senior figures – notably at Shell. The Church Commissioners, which manages the CofE’s £10bn endowment fund, will vote to oust Shell’s chief executive Wael Sawan and chairman Sir Andrew Mackenzie (right) at the energy giant’s upcoming shareholder meeting on 23 May.
It will showcase similar defiance at rival AGMs including Exxon, Occidental Petroleum and Total. Olga Hancock, acting head of responsible investment at the Church Commissioners, said: “High energy prices produced huge profits at oil and gas companies last year – a golden opportunity to invest very significantly in the transition to a low carbon economy, and one that was comprehensively missed. So we will be supporting all the relevant climate
resolutions, and voting against all of their directors.” Meanwhile, the CofE’s Pensions Board – which separately manages the church’s £3.2bn retirement pot – has also confirmed it will vote against reapproving members of Shell’s senior leadership team. Adam Matthews, chief responsible investment officer for the CofE’s Pension Board, told The Telegraph it was “with genuine regret” that he was preparing to vote against Sawan and Sir
Andrew but claimed closed door talks on climate issues had ground to a halt. Matthews said: “We have lost confidence in the direction of the company.” A Shell spokesperson said: “Shell and the CofE pensions board have worked together as partners on the energy transition for almost a decade, with an emphasis on changing the use of energy as much as its supply. We continue to believe that is the right approach and strongly disagree with the pension board’s changed position.” The Archbishop of Canterbury, ironically, was an oil exec before joining the clergy.
EMBATTLED social housing investor Home REIT is set to appoint property giant AEW as its new investment manager as it looks to move on from a string of scandals over the past seven months, City A.M. has learned. The former FTSE 250 homeless housing investor has been scoping out a new investment adviser since March after sacking its previous adviser Alvarium, which had overseen a collapse in its rental income and a breakdown in its tenant base. A source close to the discussions told City A.M. that property investment manager AEW will now be appointed as the firm’s new investment adviser in the coming days. Home REIT is understood to have made its decision but the two parties are yet to sign the paperwork and formally agree on the terms of the arrangement. Home REIT and AEW declined to comment. The appointment of the new investment adviser could trigger an overhaul in Home REIT’s operations and tenant base as it looks to steady the ship after months of scandals since a damning short report from Viceroy Research at the end of last year. £ CONTINUED ON P2
To the 737-Max: Ryanair’s bumper Boeing offer a sign of travel confidence GUY TAYLOR RYANAIR has placed a multibillion dollar order for up to 300 Boeing 737 Max 10 jets in a deal which would mark the end of a dispute between the two aviation giants. The deal is estimated to be worth around $40bn (£31.7m) based on
listed prices, with a discount likely due to the sheer size of the order. Boeing said that a firm order of 150 of the largest of Boeing’s 737 max planes had been made, with the option of 150 more. Shares in the group rose 2.5 per cent shortly after the announcement. Michael O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief
executive, said that 150 of the jets will replace older planes in the fleet, with the other 150 facilitating “growth to just over 300m guests per annum by 2034”. The announcement will bolster the Boeing 737 brand, which has
faced a drop in global deliveries due to two major accidents that saw the airliner grounded in 2019. The triple-digit deal concludes 18 months of dispute between Boeing and Ryanair, after discussions
collapsed last year. The Ryanair boss subsequently criticised delays to orders and the company’s management, who he said were “running around like headless chickens”. O’Leary has said he is confident in the post-Covid-19 recovery of the aviation industry.
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