Tesco (TSCO) bosses are cleared of £250m fraud and false accounting charges in major blow for fraud office. The Serious Fraud Office was facing questions over its future last night after two former Tesco executives were cleared of a £250million fraud and false accounting. The investigator was accused of wasting millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money and criticised over its handling of the high-profile case. It comes after former SFO boss David Green QC, who stepped down in April, was awarded a knighthood for services to the criminal justice system.
Angling firm Fishing Republic files for administration after investors fail to stump up enough rescue cash. Fishing Republic (FISH) last night filed for administration after failing to drum up enough cash from investors to stave off collapse. The angling company said it was likely that rescue specialist Leonard Curtis would be appointed next week. It also said it had received offers from buyers willing to snap up some or all of its assets. Fishing Republic, which has 14 stores, was plunged into turmoil in October when investors who had been propping it up suddenly withdrew their support.
GVC Holdings (GVC), William Hill (WMH), – Britain’s big bookmakers have agreed to end advertising during live sport on TV, amid concerns about children being exposed to gambling. Football broadcasters will take a huge financial hit, with betting having accounted for almost one in five adverts during the World Cup. But Premier League clubs could benefit, according to one top-flight commercial director. ‘This potentially makes advertising at matches more valuable,’ the club official told Sportsmail. All but one of the 20 Premier League clubs have a gambling partner and deals can be worth up to £20million a year. The move follows political pressure about the amount of betting advertising on television. The Remote Gambling Association, which includes Bet365, Ladbrokes and Paddy Power among others, has struck a deal to agree a ‘whistle-to-whistle’ TV advertising ban. The deal is said to ensure no adverts will be broadcast for a defined period before and after a game is broadcast. It will include any game that starts prior to the 9pm watershed but ends after that time.
California wildfires hit FTSE-250 listed insurance group Beazley (BEZ) to the tune of £35million to send its shares sliding. Specialist London-based insurance group Beazley has revealed that the recent wildfires in California will cost the firm around £35.1million ($40million) in claims. The payouts from reinsurance hit the group’s finances after fires damaged several settlements and killed dozens of people in the US’s most populous state. In the two sentence update, the group also said: ‘Investment markets continue to be volatile and our year to date investment return to 30 November 2018 is 0.5%.’
Packaging company Smith (DS) (SMDS) fell 5.8 per cent, or 19p, to 307.3p as it said it was looking to sell its own plastics division. Since Blue Planet II drew consumers’ attention to plastic pollution and its effect on the sea, plastic-making companies have stepped up their efforts to make new biodegradable materials. But DS Smith has decided to wash its hands of the responsibility, by exploring opportunities to sell the plastics business. Investors were unsure what to make of the sale prospect, as analysts suggested that suitors could place low bids. The division has been struggling with higher prices for raw materials, which have knocked profits. But DS Smith said plastics revenues were up 2% in the six months to October, with good growth prospects.
Contract delays forced Gresham Technologies (GHT), a data software company, to warn that profits will be significantly below expectations. Its software helps businesses keep an eye on data, and make sure it is correct. Revenues should be in line with expectations but some deals have been put off into 2019. Since regulation is increasing, Gresham’s board said it was confident there would be continued demand. Shares yesterday fell 40.9%, or 62p, to 89.5p.
BTG (BTG) climbed 26.5p, to 853p. It received a £3.3billion takeover offer from Boston Scientific last month, so while its peers are sliding in the market turmoil, its value has effectively been locked in.
Just Eat (JE.) investors were selling shares rather than gobbling them up. In an unexpected move, the FTSE Russell Group revealed that Just Eat had been booted out of the FTSE 100 index to make way for engineer Spirax Sarco. Companies are added to or removed from indices depending on whether their value has changed significantly. Since some investment funds can only invest in firms listed on an index, slipping out can cause a fire sale of shares. Analysts estimated that these funds would have to sell around 8.6m Just Eat shares, 1.3% of the company, and they fell 5.3%, or 30p, to 535p. Indivior (INDV), which makes treatments for heroin addiction, suffered a similar fate. It was removed from the European Stoxx 600 index, which includes the 600 biggest listed companies in Europe, and shares dipped 11.4%, or 10.7p, to 82.96p. Barclays (BARC) was elbowed out of the Stoxx 50 to make way for German gases group Linde. Shares plunged 3.2%, or 5.14p, to 153.32p.
Slovenia-focused gas business Ascent Resources (AST) cancelled its sale after individuals claiming to be shareholders sent threats to the country’s government which was reviewing the firm’s permits. The shares dropped 12.5%, or 0.05p, to 0.35p.
