Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) chairman Archie Norman bought nearly £100,000 worth of the company’s shares as they crashed to their lowest level for nearly two decades. Norman has said the latest five-year plan is on track but stressed his changes will not bear fruit for years. The first opportunity for positive signs to appear is in November when interim results are published. Investors will be hoping for good news after years of disappointment and turmoil in the boardroom.
Debenhams (DEB) finance chief Rachel Osborne is heading for the exit after just a year with the embattled department store chain. She is leaving to take up the same post at Ted Baker (TED) and will be replaced by the retailer’s finance director Mike Hazell, who has worked for Debenhams since 2010. Osborne will succeed Charles Anderson, who is leaving Ted Baker after 17 years to join Mulberry. She said: ‘Ted Baker is an outstanding global brand and I am hugely looking forward to the opportunity to contribute to the next phase of its development.’ Osborne is joining Ted Baker at a challenging time.
Shares in Pearson (PSON) have slumped nearly 20% after it warned profits will be lower than expected this year. ‘Weaker than expected’ sales in Pearson’s US higher education courseware division mean the group’s annual adjusted operating profit will come in at around £590million, down from an initial target of £640million. Pearson’s courseware business makes up a quarter of its revenue, but trading slipped 10% in the first nine months of its financial year. Pearson said students were moving away from print products in favour of online educational resources faster than anticipated. As a result, Pearson now expects sales across its US higher education division to fall by between eight and 12%, against a previous forecast of between 0 and 5%.
Neil Woodford’s investment trust has been forced to write down the value of three more of its holdings, as the crisis surrounding the fund manager rolls on. Link Fund Solutions, the company responsible for independently valuing the portfolio, has cut the valuation of three unnamed Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT). WPCT is listed on the stock market and is separate to the fund manager’s suspended flagship fund Woodford Equity Income.
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) issued a profit warning after taking a hit from the 48-hour strike action by its pilots earlier this month. The strike cost the group around £121million and further passenger disruption triggered by threatened strikes by staff at Heathrow Airport has cost the firm £299.2million to date, meaning IAG’s annual profits will come in lower than expected. IAG’s boss has confirmed it is looking to snap up the stricken holiday group’s plane slots at Gatwick airport. Willie Walsh said: ‘If there’s slots available we’ll be looking at slots, but through the normal way, through the slot pool. ‘But if there is an opportunity to acquire some slots through the administration … We clearly see Gatwick as an opportunity for us and that is something we will be looking at.’
DFS Furniture (DFS) has warned that sales are suffering as the Brexit impasse drags on, and shoppers put off making big purchases or moving house. The furniture firm said sales momentum slowed towards the back end of its financial year amid ‘the increasingly uncertain political and economic backdrop’. It added that this trend carried on into the new fiscal year, with order intake easing back and fewer visits being made to its stores. ‘Recent trading conditions have reflected the increasingly uncertain political and economic backdrop, and we have seen reduced levels of footfall across all our brands, which we attribute to lower levels of consumer confidence and housing transactions, the two key drivers of the upholstery market,’ said DFS boss Tim Stacey. He added that order levels ‘have been subdued’ in the past three months and said the outlook would depend on the Brexit outcome, which is ‘difficult to predict’.
Verditek (VDTK) shares rose after the solar panel maker secured another order with a Nigerian distributor. Verditek said further orders are in the pipeline. The company is also looking to raise £650,000 through a share placing of 14.4m shares, which it will put towards its growth plans.
Shore Capital Group Ltd. (SGR) is quitting the stock market in London after deciding its listing on AIM is a distraction to management, too expensive and – because the shares aren’t trading very much – has ultimately undervalued the company. Shore will need the support of 75% of votes at a one-off meeting of shareholders next month in order to cancel its shares from November 1. With senior current and former directors owning around 67% of shares, this is likely achievable. Shore Capital will keep its listing on the Bermuda Stock Exchange, and current shareholders will have their holdings transferred to the sunny island’s bourse.
Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) reported a 3.3% rise in comparable sales in the eight weeks to September 21. Drinks sales were up 4%, though food sales rose 2.1%, suggesting punters were keener on drinks than pub grub over the summer.
Aston Martin Holdings (AML) advanced 31.4p, to 582.2p, shrugging off ratings agency Moody’s changing its outlook on the luxury car maker from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’, citing the group’s high cash burn.
Xaar (XAR) tanked after its delayed first-half results revealed a barrage of bad news. The Cambridge-based firm said exiting its Thin Film business will cost it £39million, which subsequently pushed its loss from £1.1million in 2018 to £52.3million between January and June. It also announced a management exodus, with the chief executive, chairman, finance boss and a non-executive director all due to leave between now and next March.
Foxtons Group (FOXT) chairman since 2013, Garry Watts, will retire at, or before, the firm’s annual meeting next spring. He will be succeeded by Ian Barlow, who is a senior independent director at the group.
Analysts at Peel Hunt slapped troubled lawsuit funder Burford Capital (BUR) with a ‘buy’ rating as they initiated coverage, saying they believe governance and disclosure issues ‘have been exaggerated and are being addressed’.
