Not this … pip pip
If ever a business justified private equity’s reputation for f—ging threadbare companies to the stock market, it is the AA. CVC, Permira and Charterhouse listed the roadside assistance company in 2014, breaking up the holding vehicle Acromas.
The AA was hobbled from the start. The buyout barons, which bought it from British Gas owner Centrica, extracted hefty dividends and loaded it with £3.3bn of debt before taking it to market.
After a brief honeymoon, the shares started to drop in mid-2015 — and it has been downhill ever since. They ended last week at 46p, valuing it at just £277m. Neil Woodford was among investors who bought into the disastrous float.