Royal Mail sale will help stamp out Britain's debt culture

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Ask the boss: Royal Mail sale will help stamp out Britain's debt culture

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AS the row continues over the sale of Royal Mail, Ian Gorham is keen to focus on how it could help to turn debt-lashed Britain into a nation of savers.

The chief executive of ­Hargreaves Lansdown saw the benefits and pitfalls of the company’s role in handling the huge public demand for Royal Mail shares.

While Hargreaves added 20,000 clients over the third quarter – up nearly 200 per cent on 2012 – its online and phone trading systems initially buckled under the strain.

But that technical glitch failed to dent investor confidence as its share price climbed to a record high of 1185p this week, giving it a value of more than £5.5billion.

Three decades after it was set up by Peter Hargreaves and Stephen Lansdown, the firm now looks after £40billion in assets and has over half a million clients.

However, Gorham fears people have lost their taste for saving.

He says: “Since about 2000 we suddenly forgot about investing and got obsessed by debt. We are starting to rediscover investing and it does help when there are these events like the Royal Mail float, as they encourage people to invest for the first time.”

Since about 2000 we suddenly forgot about investing and got obsessed by debt. We are starting to rediscover investing and it does help when there are these events like the Royal Mail float, as they encourage people to invest for the first time

But he says financial firms are hamstrung by red tape.

“It’s easier to advertise ­gambling and pay day lending. Investing is treated as something dangerous,” he says. “I’m not sure I could name someone in Government who is responsible for encouraging investing. It should be a ministerial responsibility.”

Gorham, 41, grew up on the Isle of Man before gaining an economics degree at Warwick University and training at Deloitte as a chartered ­accountant.

He joined Hargreaves in 2009 as chief operating officer before taking the hot seat the following year.

Gorham thinks firms could cast the net wider to boost diversity in the boardroom. Instead of ­headhunting Hargreaves has found ­non-executives among its clients – “people who have a range of skills and care about the business,” as he says.

While the firm could look abroad for growth, he believes there is plenty of untapped potential in the domestic market, which could at least double its assets over the next few years.

Now another big opportunity is looming as the Government looks to sell more Lloyds shares.

Gorham says: “The public has put in hundreds of billions to stabilise the banks so there should be a retail offer. Being more accountable by having a big retail shareholder base is a good thing.”

[Danelectro]

same as it ever was