London Pride maker Fuller Smith & Turner (FSTA), better known as Fuller’s, is to sell its entire beer business to the European division of Japanese brewer Asahi. In a deal which values the division at £250million, the London-based brewer will sell the production and distribution of its well-known beers, including its flagship drink London Pride, as well as its ale, stout, porter, craft lager and cider brands. It also includes the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, where the company was founded in 1845. Even though Fuller’s will retain ultimate ownership of its brand name, Asahi will hold the licence to use the trademark globally. Protecting the heritage of the site was ‘particularly important’ to the deal, according to chief executive Simon Emeny.
Vodafone has reported a drop in quarterly revenue but remained firm on its growth expectations for the full year. Group revenue was £9.52 billion in the third quarter, down by £0.7 billion. Vodafone Group (VOD) blamed the decline on new accounting standards, foreign exchange headwinds and the sale of its Qatar business. The company reiterated guidance of 3% growth in underlying earnings for the year. European revenue was down by 1.1%, but Vodafone said it had seen improving consumer trends in both Italy and Spain. ‘Lower mobile contract churn across our markets and improved customer trends in Italy and Spain are encouraging, however these have not yet translated into our financial results, with a similar revenue trend in Europe to Q2,’ said chief executive Nick Read. ‘We have executed at pace this quarter and have improved the consistency of our commercial performance,’ added Read. Rest of world revenue grew 4.9%, marking a slowdown on the 7.7% rate of the previous quarter.
Vodafone shares slip towards nine-year low, as poor figures from SA division spook investors. Vodafone Group (VOD) shares slipped towards a nine-year low, as poor figures from its South African division spooked investors the day before its latest trading update. Vodacom, which is Vodafone’s South African subsidiary, said a slower-than-expected economic recovery in the country was to blame for the decline in sales. Amid political pressure to cut prices on its data packages, Vodacom’s revenue slipped 1.3% in South Africa over the last three months of 2018 to around £960m. Chief executive Shameel Joosub said that though the business had introduced a number of promotional deals, fewer customers than hoped had taken them up. The results came at an awkward time for Vodacom’s London-listed parent company Vodafone, which is set to release its own update today on trading over the last three months of 2018.
A strong set of numbers from wealth manager St James’s Place (STJ) helped to mitigate losses on the blue-chip index. Choppy markets, prompted by investors’ concerns over Brexit and the global economy, have knocked several similar firms in recent weeks, pushing down the value of the money they hold for clients as investments have under-performed. But St James’s managed to hold steady, seeing its funds under management climb 5% to £95.6bn over 2018. Clients invested £10.3 billion more than they withdrew over the year, up 8% from the year before.
Investment firm Brooks Macdonald Group (BRK) had less success, as it revealed its own funds under management had slumped 4.5% over the last six months of 2018 to £11.9 billion. Shares edged down 60p, to 1670p.
CMC Markets (CMCX) the online trading firm said the three months to December 31 had been much better than the previous three months, as its clients increased their activity as they attempted to make money from the fluctuating markets. As its peer IG Group Holdings (IGG) conceded on Wednesday, new European rules designed to protect inexperienced traders would push down revenue for the year.
Brownfield housebuilder Inland Homes (INL) slipped 3%, or 1.7p, to 54.8p as it agreed to increase its lending. It has taken out a £65m debt facility with HSBC, to replace the £20m it previously had with Barclays. It also said that numbers of houses sold would be lower than the previous year, due to the timing of occupations on large apartment complexes.
Larger peer Countryside Properties (CSP) also dipped, despite announcing sales were up 18% to 1094 homes in the three months to December. The average number of people making a reservation per building development each week – a key metric for the industry – dipped as Countryside warned of an uncertain political backdrop.
Barclays fightback against corporate raider: Activist Ed Bramson has no strategy, says boss Jes Staley. The boss of Barclays (BARC) has hit back against a New York-based corporate raider bidding to overhaul the British bank. Chief executive Jes Staley accused Ed Bramson of failing to reveal his strategy for Barclays to the bank’s directors, despite demanding a seat on its board. Investors also claimed Bramson has not discussed his plans with them. One leading shareholder added: ‘He’s identified a number of problems with Barclays but hasn’t come up with any solutions.’ But sources warned that Barclays shareholders could split over Bramson’s plans to win a seat on the board and overhaul the bank – with US investors backing his move while those in the UK swing behind Staley. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Staley accused Bramson of failing to lay out his vision for the bank despite agitating for change. In an interview with CNBC, Staley said: ‘We’ve had a reasonable engagement with Bramson over the last year, we’ll see him again in March. He really hasn’t laid out his strategy to us, you know. We read the press, and see what they say.’
Fever-Tree shares fizz higher after Brits splash out on its upmarket mixers during the heatwave and Christmas. Fevertree Drinks (FEVR) investors are fizzing over this morning after the AIM upstart revealed another year of rapid growth. Its shares shot up by 10% in early trading on the news that sales rocketed 39% to around £236million in 2018. That includes a 52% surge at its domestic UK market, where Fever-Tree mixers and tonics proved popular over the long, hot summer and Christmas. The company said its performance in the summer months was ‘outstanding’ and expects its full year profits to be comfortably ahead of forecasts. On Thursday morning, the stock was trading at over £28 for the first time in months, following are more subdued period for the British tonic firm. Shares were £40 a pop last September, but took a battering at the end of 2018, wiping out much of the growth the firm managed in the first nine months of the year.
Restaurant Group claims it’s getting back on track after the badly-received Wagamama takeover which triggered a major share price slide. Restaurant Group (RTN) has hailed a ‘pivotal’ year as it seeks to get back on track after its takeover of Wagamama triggered a share price slide. The company bought noodle chain Wagamama for £559million late last year, a move which prompted a large fall in its shares as investors questioned its wisdom and the price being paid. Investors remain seemingly unconvinced the company is heading in the right direction however, with today’s update also greeted by a share price fall. As of mid-morning on Thursday, shares in the Restaurant Group are down 6% at 142p. The company which also owns brands including Frankie & Benny’s and Garfunkel’s said like-for-like sales which exclude new openings and acquisitions, fell by 2% in the 52 weeks to December 30. Meanwhile total sales, which include a record 21 new pubs and 21 new concessions as well as one week of trade from Wagamama, climbed 1%.
