Britain’s largest grocers are cutting prices to the bone in a tense festive stand-off with shoppers that has left stores facing a Christmas ‘bloodbath’. Food industry sources said sales at major supermarket chains, which have been poor for weeks, have crashed in the past ten days and left many stores struggling to match last year’s festive period. Bosses at some major names are said to have been left reeling by declines of as much as 10% on the weakest days compared to last year – possibly made worse by recent bad weather. Experts suggested ‘subdued’ consumers have snapped up essentials in shops while cutting back on treats. They also said the relentless growth of Aldi and Lidl means spending is spread more thinly across more shops across the UK. The result has been a pile-up of fresh stock for some stores. The market is awash with huge discounts including Tesco’s price-leading 500g of sprouts at 19p – less than a penny per sprout. It is also selling whole salmon at £5.50, half the previous price. Asda, Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW), Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) –which together with Tesco (TSCO) are the country’s four largest retailers – all have similar discounts on fresh produce. That includes drastic cuts on loose vegetables, but also lamb, beef joints and fish.
Hummingbird Resources (HUM) is gearing up to restart drilling at its Yanfolila gold mine in Mali and to release a five-year plan for the project in early 2020. It estimated there are 165,000 more ounces of gold at the site than it originally thought. The company’s profile has been raised after it struck a deal to supply jeweller Boodles with ethical gold. It says it will make enough cash from its gold production to mean it can be debt-free in 2020. Production in Mali has previously been disrupted by heavy rains and weak infrastructure. A fall in the price of gold could hit the company, while shares are down by 2.6% so far this year.
Financial services computing group Beeks Financial Cloud Group (BKS) surged after winning two major contracts. The firm, which provides cloud computing services for traders and hedge funds to complete trades more quickly, did not name the customers. But it bagged a contract worth £766million a year for three years with a financial markets technology group and a deal worth £1.1million over three years with an online payment provider.
Just Eat (JE.) bosses stuck to their guns and urged shareholders to back a merger with Takeaway.com instead of a rival bid. The decision came after its two suitors sweetened their bids on Thursday in last-ditch efforts to woo the group. Dutch group Takeaway’s final all-stock merger proposal valued Just Eat’s shares at 916p, a 25% increase on its previous offer of around 731p, valuing the business at around £6.3billion. And Prosus, a Dutch-listed unit of South African conglomerate Naspers that began trying to gatecrash the Takeaway merger in November, raised its bid from just over £5billion to £5.5billion. Takeaway has been Just Eat’s preferred suitor throughout. The latter thinks it makes more sense for two food delivery companies to join forces, rather than being sold to Prosus, which wants to move into the market for the first time.
AstraZeneca (AZN) made gains after it agreed to sell the commercial rights to two of its drugs to a French company, Juvise Pharmaceuticals, for £139million. One of the drugs stops the production of oestrogen in women who have gone through the menopause in a bid to stop cancer cells developing, while the other drug, Casodex, is a prostate cancer treatment.
Waste management group Renewi (RWI) is relieved the Dutch government has lifted a ban on the use of thermally-treated soil, which aims to clean soil of chemicals such as petrol so that it can be reused. This means it could be able to sell soil made at a Renewi site in the Netherlands.
Warpaint London (W7L) tumbled after it told shareholders to brace for annual profits to come in at between £5.1million and £5.5million, down from previous guidance of £6million to £7million. The make-up group said spending on its expansion in the US and hits from foreign exchange movements had contributed to the profit warning. Former BBC radio executive Stuart Last’s appointment as chief executive of podcast maker Audioboom failed to excite shares as they remained flat at 207.5p.
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) is facing two high-profile legal battles with entrepreneurs who say they were ruined by corrupt bankers at its infamous HBOS Reading branch, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The banking group – which bought HBOS in 2008 and so is liable for its past misbehaviour – was slammed earlier this month for botching a compensation scheme set up for victims of HBOS Reading, who included TV star and businessman Noel Edmonds. Now two entrepreneurs who had already lost faith in the scheme have launched multi-million pound claims in the High Court. If they are successful, Lloyds could face a string of new legal actions. Lloyds launched its HBOS Reading compensation review in 2017 after two former bankers and four others were jailed for running a scam which involved businesses being run into the ground for their own financial gain.
MIDAS SHARE TIPS: Tune into a profit at STV Group (STVG) as Scotland’s television minnow takes on the age of streaming. Midas verdict: Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube lure a fair share of the viewing public but watching mainstream telly remains a favourite pastime, especially in Scotland. Pitts is determined to capitalise on this, with STV, the digital app and home-grown productions. The recipe seems to be working but there is plenty more potential for growth. At £3.80 the shares are a buy and the dividend offers an attractive income stream as well.
MIDAS SHARE TIPS UPDATE: The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (TRIG) powers ahead. Midas verdict: TRIG was valued on the stock market at £300 million in 2013. Today, that has risen to more than £2 billion. As the business grows, it can participate in more projects and save money through economies of scale. Shareholders who invested in 2013 have done well but there should be more growth and income. For investors seeking shares that do well and do good, TRIG is an attractive choice.
