The considerable ownership by private companies in Mountview Estates indicates that they collectively have a greater say in management and business strategy
53% of the business is held by the top 6 shareholders
If you want to know who really controls Mountview Estates P.L.C. (LON:MTVW), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 37% to be precise, is private companies. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).
Individual insiders, on the other hand, account for 32% of the company's stockholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.
Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Mountview Estates.
What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Mountview Estates?
Institutions typically measure themselves against a benchmark when reporting to their own investors, so they often become more enthusiastic about a stock once it's included in a major index. We would expect most companies to have some institutions on the register, especially if they are growing.
We can see that Mountview Estates does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This implies the analysts working for those institutions have looked at the stock and they like it. But just like anyone else, they could be wrong. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Mountview Estates' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.
LSE:MTVW Earnings and Revenue Growth March 31st 2025
Our data indicates that hedge funds own 7.1% of Mountview Estates. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. The company's CEO Duncan Sinclair is the largest shareholder with 15% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 10% and 8.3%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.
On further inspection, we found that more than half the company's shares are owned by the top 6 shareholders, suggesting that the interests of the larger shareholders are balanced out to an extent by the smaller ones.
Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. As far as we can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar.
Insider Ownership Of Mountview Estates
The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. The company management answer to the board and the latter should represent the interests of shareholders. Notably, sometimes top-level managers are on the board themselves.
Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances.
Our most recent data indicates that insiders own a reasonable proportion of Mountview Estates P.L.C.. It has a market capitalization of just UK£340m, and insiders have UK£108m worth of shares in their own names. We would say this shows alignment with shareholders, but it is worth noting that the company is still quite small; some insiders may have founded the business. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.
General Public Ownership
With a 13% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over Mountview Estates. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.
Private Company Ownership
Our data indicates that Private Companies hold 37%, of the company's shares. It's hard to draw any conclusions from this fact alone, so its worth looking into who owns those private companies. Sometimes insiders or other related parties have an interest in shares in a public company through a separate private company.
Next Steps:
I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Take risks for example - Mountview Estates has 2 warning signs (and 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable) we think you should know about.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this freelist of interesting companies.
NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content?Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
