Shares in WPP (WPP) stuttered after it lost a prestigious contract with Ford Motor Company. The advertising group’s stock slumped 1.4%, or 15p, to 1095p after the US car maker appointed Omnicom Group’s BBDO as its lead advertising partner. It was a major blow to boss Mark Read, who took over from founder Sir Martin Sorrell after he was ousted amid allegations he paid a prostitute with company money. Sorrell, who has since set up competitor S4 Capital, has maintained that the allegations which led to his departure are untrue.
Gambling firm also took a hit after Ireland’s finance minister Paschal Donohoe announced plans to double the country’s tax on betting to 2%. Shares dipped 5%, or 325p, to 6175p as Sharon Byrne, a spokesman for the Irish Bookmakers Association, said the increase would ‘kill the industry’.
YouGov (YOU) slipped – even though it hiked its dividend after profits rose 49% to £11.8million. The firm, which boasted of its ability to analyse data in real-time as it is collected, said dividends would rise 50% to 3p per share. Analysts at Berenberg have previously described You Gov as ‘misunderstood’, claiming that many observers don’t realise that the business does much more than conduct general election polls. And the firm’s chief executive Stephan Shakespeare added that the firm was breaking ‘new ground in our industry’.
Knights Group Holdings plc (KGH), one of the handful in its industry to have listed on the public markets, made its first deal since floating on the London Stock Exchange as it scooped up Spearing Waite. Knights (down 0.25%, or 0.49p, to 197p) paid £5.3million for Leicester’s biggest law firm, which will rebrand as Knights in January.
Shares in energy company Serica Energy (SQZ) climbed after it moved closer to buying three key North Sea gas fields from BP. It is buying Bruce, Keith and Rhum. But uncertainty surrounds the deal after President Trump slapped sanctions on Iran – as Rhum is co-owned by the Iranian Oil company. The US agreed to approve the sale, as long as any money paid to Iranian Oil is held by a third party for as long as the sanctions are in place.
Aviva (AV.) boss was ruthlessly axed by his chairman after the board lost faith in his leadership. Mark Wilson was forced out in a move that shocked the insurance industry and the City. The 52-year-old leaves with a golden goodbye worth up to £6.5million having been chief executive since January 2013, earning £19.5million since taking the job. ‘Now is the time for a new leader,’ said chairman Sir Adrian Montague.
Blazing sunshine throughout the summer has led to a bumper year for the UK’s wine producers. The harvest at the Chapel Down Group plc (CDGP) winery in Kent was about 60% bigger than last year’s after the hottest British summer on record. Mark Harvey, managing director of the wines business at Chapel Down, said: ‘The conditions have been, frankly, perfect. ‘To have a harvest of the scale that we’re having this year is just the best.’
The boss behind Unilever’s plot to ditch Britain is a tax resident in Switzerland. Chief executive Paul Polman, who spearheaded a failed attempt to axe the Marmite maker’s UK headquarters and base it solely in the Netherlands, has lived in Switzerland for 20 years and the country is his tax base. Unilever (ULVR) revealed the 62-year-old’s status in a statement last night. It insisted that he pays taxes on his income from the company in Holland and the UK.
Despite volatile trading throughout this summer’s heatwave, focaccia-style pizzas and a summer drinks range aided a rise in sales for bakery chain Greggs (GRG). The group reported that like-for-like sales rose by 3.2% across its own-managed shops during the 13 weeks to September 29. Total sales were also up 7.3%, marking a rise since its first half, when sales crept 1.5% higher.
