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Kingspan’s Grenfell statement hits a discordant note

Investors shake off Cavan company’s woes

The Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people. Photograph: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
The Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 people. Photograph: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie
Proinsias O'Mahony's picture
Proinsias O'Mahony
Tue Sept 10 2024 - 05:00

It would be an understatement to say insulation giant Kingspan doesn’t come out well from the report on the 2017 Grenfell tower fire that killed 72 people.

Kingspan “knowingly” created a “false market” in insulation for use on buildings over 18m in height and the report said it “cynically exploited” the industry’s limited understanding of insulation and cladding fire safety tests. “Dishonest strategies”, “deeply entrenched and persistent dishonesty”, a “complete disregard for fire safety” – the language used is blunt.

Responding, Kingspan acknowledged the “wholly unacceptable historical failings that occurred in part of our UK insulation business”, but made sure to add these “were in no way reflective of how we conduct ourselves as a group, then or now”. The defensive nature of that statement raised some eyebrows.

Veteran Northern Irish broadcaster Bill Neely, formerly of ITN and NBC, described it as “staggeringly blind”. Investors, however, weren’t bothered.

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Kingspan shares were flat following the report. The stock is up 150 per cent since June 2017′s Grenfell fire, valuing the company at €13.75 billion.

It can point to a strong ESG (environmental, governance and social) score from Sustainalytics, which ranks the company as low risk relative to industry peers.

Investors view the Grenfell scandal as yesterday’s news, but Kingspan’s statement – presumably guided by the possibility of future legal action – struck a discordant note given the gravity of the disaster.

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