Kelvin MacKenzie seems to have reinvented himself as an equities analyst.
A few weeks ago, he had a go at Roger Parry, the incoming chairman at Media Square. This, you might recall, is the marketing services business that forced MacKenzie out as chairman in June.
Parry — stay with me — is also chairman of Johnston Press, whose share price isn’t exactly motoring at the moment.
Hence, perhaps, MacKenzie’s back-handed comment on the company’s first results announcement under its new chairman: “I just hope Roger is more successful at Media Square than he has been as chairman of Johnston Press . . . ”
Confronted by MacKenzie’s comment, Parry admitted to being “a bit surprised that Kelvin spoke up”. After all, he added, Media Square’s share price went from 22p to 9p during MacKenzie’s 15 months as chairman of the company.
Parry also described the situation he inherited from MacKenzie at Media Square as “dire”. He added that the company’s problems “were mostly of the company’s own making, rather than as a result of market conditions”.
The slapping down has only emboldened the man who tried to save Highbury House and lost the thick end of £1m in the process.
On Saturday, MacKenzie was at it again.
This time, the object of his considered analysis was Ralph Bernard, the outgoing chief executive of GCap.
“Uniquely disastrous”, MacKenzie told the Daily Telegraph. “Shareholders will be dancing in the streets. I’m critical of the board for not giving him the boot two years ago.”
Sadly, Bernard hasn’t replied publicly. He is unlikely to do so. “You never win with Kelvin,” said Bernard long ago. “Because he will always try to out-succeed in belittling you.”
Hopefully, MacKenzie’s attacks on relatively minor British media companies are just a warm-up for something much bigger. We note that News Corp will be releasing its Q3 results in January.
The date is marked in red letters on our diary.
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