The head of the Hong Kong stock exchange has said he would reject his own offer if he was in charge of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE). Charles Li told The Sibos finance conference in London: ‘It was now or never. If I were in David Schwimmer’s shoes, I’d reject Charles Li. I accept that. ‘But I think the opportunity is such that London investors deserve a look at it.’ Li, speaking on stage shortly after LSE boss David Schwimmer, is in the middle of an investor charm offensive and said he regretted the timing of the bid. He admitted Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (HKEX) controversial swoop was late. But he told investors that a merger would see the two exchanges ‘complete each other’ and unlock ‘the last frontier’.
Metro Bank (MTRO) shares crashed by a third to an all-time low yesterday. The sell-off, which was triggered by a failed fundraising on Monday, has fuelled speculation that it may have to find a buyer. Investors have turned against the High Street lender after an accounting error in January, since when its shares have plunged 90%. Yesterday’s dive was caused by the shock decision to pull a £200million fundraising in the bond market due to lack of demand from investors. Metro needs to raise the money to meet EU regulations by January 1, requiring banks to issue a special type of bond that can be used to prop up banks during times of crisis.
Burford Capital (BUR) took another battering after hedge fund Muddy Waters launched a fresh attack on its accounting practices. The lawsuit-funding firm’s shares tumbled after it was accused of ‘evading key questions’ in a document. On Monday, Burford issued a 45-page response to the latest Muddy Waters claims, which said it used ‘aggressive’ valuations for legal cases yet to be concluded. ‘Burford fails to address the key issues,’ Muddy Waters said. ‘Just because it is 45 pages long doesn’t mean it answers any of the important questions we raised.’
The boss of Hotel Chocolat Group (HOTC) proudly described his stores as ‘a doorway into instant escapist happiness’, as sales accelerated for another year. The British chocolatier opened 16 new shops in the past year, helping it chalk up a 14% rise in sales to £132.5million. The company invested in its older shops during the period too, rolling out hot drinks, ice-creams and evening tasting events across its 100 UK sites. ‘This helps to keep stores relevant and exciting, as well as increasing shopper dwell time,’ said Emily Salter, an analyst at GlobalData. Hotel Chocolat also hailed the success of new products like a hot chocolate making machine and vegan ice lollies, and said sweet-toothed shoppers flocked to buy gifts for seasonal occasions such as Easter and Mother’s Day.
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) said the collapse of Thomas Cook will have a ‘short-term’ impact on its profits, as it reassured investors today that its business model was ‘resilient’ and full-year results in line with expectations. However, the group warned that ongoing issues in the travel industry – namely the continued grounding of some Boeing aircrafts, overcapacity in the airline sector and the impact of Brexit uncertainty on consumer spending – will continue to eat away at it in the new year.
FireAngel Safety Technology Group plc (FA.) sank after it sounded the alarm on its full-year performance, warning investors to expect a loss. It is the carbon monoxide detector and smoke alarm maker’s third warning on profits in 18 months and comes after former chief executive Neil Smith left in July. Coventry-based FireAngel said its loss before tax had widened to £3.6million between January and June, from £2million.
M&C Saatchi (SAA) shares dived to a seven-year low after warning its annual profit could be as much as 10% below forecasts. It comes six weeks after the group revealed it will book a £6.4million one-off charge in its 2019 results to cover past accounting errors. PwC is conducting an independent investigation to find out how far back the errors go and will report its findings in November, M&C Saatchi said.
AA (AA.) advanced slightly as revenue rose 2.3% to £491million and it began to stem customer losses. It lost 20,000 net members between January and June, leaving it with 3.19m compared with 3.21m in the same period of 2018. The firm is hoping to keep customers with its smart breakdown product, a device which costs an extra £50 a year and plugs into the car to monitor its health, which it will roll out to existing members later this year. And it hopes to lure new ones in with an advert featuring the cast members from the cult TV show Red Dwarf.
Barr (A.G.) (BAG) fizzed 20p, to 606p, as it stuck to its full-year estimates and boosted the interim dividend from 3.9p to 4p a share, despite a wet summer and the sugar tax hitting first-half sales and profits.
InnovaDerma (IDP) rose 6.5p, to 83.5p, after it doubled full-year profits to £1.4million and said its Wonder Serum, a product which was exclusive to Boots, had performed brilliantly.
Everyman Media Group (EMAN) rallied 2p, to 184p, as admissions and revenues both rose in the 26 weeks to July 4. It plans to open a further 15 venues by 2022 and is looking at another eight sites.
