Permira ditches its entire Just Group stake

Just Group fell on Friday as private equity investor Permira ditched its entire holding in the retirement services company a day after it surged on the back of solid first-quarter sales figures.

Permira sold just over 166m shares in Just Group at 143p each, which is its entire 17.7% stake. The shares were sold in a placing conducted through an accelerated bookbuild, with Barclays Bank and Numis acting as joint bookrunner.

The company will not receive any proceeds from the Placing.

Just Group surged on Thursday after it posted a jump in first-quarter sales thanks to a strong performance in defined benefit de-risking.

Retirement income sales were 43% higher at £454m, with defined benefit sales up a whopping 99% to £249m compared to the first quarter as employee benefit consultants proactively manage the industry pipeline and as the market becomes less seasonal. Meanwhile, total new business sales rose 41% to £617m.

At 1022 BST, the shares were down 1.3% to 148.40p.