Woodford Asset Management ramps up stake in Hostelworld

High-profile UK fund manager Neil Woodford has ramped up his investment in Hostelworld to in excess of 25 per cent.

Woodford Asset Management, which Mr Woodford set up 2014 after leaving his role as head of UK equities at Investco Perpetual, revealed in a stock exchanging filling that it has increased its stake in the Dublin-listed company by more than two percentage points to 25.4 per cent.

Big positions

The asset management firm, known for taking big positions in companies out of favour with the wider market, acquired an initial 14 per cent stake in Hostelworld when the company raised €180 million as it floated in November 2015.

Shares in the company slumped in May last year after the group reported weaker-than-expected demand across Europe in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels. However, the company said last week that “improved trading momentum which commenced in the latter part of 2016 has continued”.