Description
Hargreaves Lansdown plc is a British financial service company based in Bristol, England. It sells funds and shares and related products to retail investors in the United Kingdom. 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 by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown who had initially traded from a bedroom. Hargreaves Lansdown initially provided information to clients on unit trusts and tax planning matters. Now, the company has grown to be one of the largest in Bristol, located at One College Square, Harbourside.
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. 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 FC's new football stadium, reducing his stake to 22.9%.
In 2019 Hargreaves Lansdown suffered reputational damage when trading was suspended on 4 June 2019 in the Woodford Investment Management fund, which Hargreaves Lansdown had been promoting through its Wealth 50 list despite concerns about the fund's investment strategy and underperformance. On 5 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 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.
