Rentokil resist break up April 30th, 2008

Rentokil, the Royal rat catcher, has again resisted suggestions that it should sell off underperforming businesses to focus on core, profitable activities. The news comes after the company issued a further profit warning for City Link, its parcel delivery business.

Alan Brown, the new chief executive of Rentokil, believes there is value in the business remaining in its current guise and that the whole is worth more than the sum of the individual parts. Furthermore, the company is now underway with its programme to get it back on track.

This may sound positive but it will be little comfort for shareholders who’ve seen the value of their investment fall by nearly 50% this year.