AJ Bell shares slip as founder Andy Bell flogs £28.1m stake

AJ Bell shares fell on Friday after the investment platform’s co-founder sold a large chunk of shares.

Regulatory filings show Andy Bell, who founded the business with Nicholas Littlefair in 1995, has sold 7,500,000 shares in the group at 375p each, raking in £28.1million.

Bell’s AJ Bell stake now stands at 18.7 per cent and he is prevented from selling his remaining holding of more than 77,000,000 shares for 90 days from 29 May.

AJ Bell shares were down 3.7 per cent to 388.5p in early trading, having added more than 30 per cent since the start of 2024.

A separate filing on Thursday night shows AJ Bell’s advised managing director Billy Mackay and its chief technology officer Amber Tagari have also sold a chunk of shares.

Mackay sold 50,882 ordinary shares at roughly 393p each, while Tagari sold 4,963 shares at 403p.

All three are likely to have benefited from bumper AJ Bell shares gains on Thursday, which saw the platform post a solid first-half result.

AJ Bell hiked its dividend after pre-tax profits jumped 47 per cent to £64.1million in the six months to the end of March, while revenue grew 27 per cent to £131.3million.

The platform’s assets under administration have grown to more than £80billion as of the end of March, while its shares have grown almost 80 per cent since listing in 2018.

Looming obstacles facing the future of AJ Bell, as well as its rivals, include growing competition in the investment platform space and the Financial Conduct Authority’s ongoing cash ‘double-dipping’ scrutiny.

Co-founder of rival Hargreaves Lansdown Peter Hargreaves is also reported to be considering cashing-in on his stake.

Hargreaves said last night said he was ‘looking at all options’ after a shock foreign takeover bid threw the investment platform’s future into doubt.

He said he was ‘watching with interest’ after the board rejected a £4.67billion approach from a consortium including private equity group CVC and Abu Dhabi investors.

The tycoon, 77, who is no longer involved in the firm’s day-to-day running, owns a near-20 per cent stake worth just over £1billion.