 | Tullow Oil (TLW) shares dropped although the trading update had few real surprises sent it plunging into the red. Scrapped exploration projects, a lower assumption about what oil prices will be in the long term and a re-evaluation of how much oil is at some of its sites in Ghana mean it will take a one-off hit of £1.2billion in its 2019 results. It has also had to suspend a pilot project in Kenya because heavy rain at the end of the year destroyed roads that led up to it. The £1.2billion blow comes after a horrific year for Tullow, when its shares lost almost two-thirds of their value, a vaunted discovery off the coast of South America turned out to be a dud and chief executive Paul McDade made a hasty exit. But, as Bank of America put it, this was an update with ‘no new shocks’. SP Angel analysts believe the £1.2billion write-down ‘will have been expected’, but that the massive drop in its share price could now make it a takeover target. |
 | Provident Financial (PFG) made a sharp move after putting out an update that leaves the bigger picture little changed. It traded in line with its own forecasts in the three months to December and still expects full-year profits to be the same – as a strong performance in its credit card subsidiary Vanquis was cancelled out by impairments at its car finance division Moneybarn. |
| Aston Martin Holdings (AML) managed to shake off a downbeat broker note from analysts at Jefferies, who said the luxury car maker will need to raise ‘at least’ £400million of new cash. | |
 | Goldman Sachs took a shine to Capita (CPI), adding it to its ‘Conviction List’ and raising its price target to 240p from 200p. Capita’s shares rose to 172.45p, as analysts at the US investment bank said the risk has been taken out of the outsourcer since Boris Johnson’s landslide election victory last month. |
 | Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) fell after Barclays brokers downgraded their rating on its stock to ‘underweight’ and warned the restructuring of its Natwest Markets and Ulster arms will require patience from investors. |
 | Top-notch results from early tests of a gold project in the Ivory Coast sent shares in IronRidge Resources Limited (DI) (IRR) up to 11.75p. The AIM-listed exploration firm, which is based in Australia, said the ‘exceptional’ data from the Zaranou site indicates a lot of high-quality gold. The area borders Ghana and is close to several other mines run by companies such as Newmont Mining. Ironridge plans to do more drilling when it has reviewed the results in more detail. |
 | Everyman Media Group (EMAN) raked in record revenues and profits last year as film fans flocked to see hits such as Knives Out, Vice and Green Book. Blockbusters including Joker and The Lion King also drew in crowds, but Everyman said it was the less well publicised and independent movies that boosted business. Profits rose 30% to £12million in the 52 weeks to January 2, the group said in a trading update. Revenues jumped 25% to £65million – which included sales from seven new cinemas that opened in 2019. |
  | Greggs (GRG) has joined forces with Just Eat (JE.) as it prepares to expand its home delivery service nationwide following a successful trial. The bakery chain’s decision is a coup for the takeaway app after Greggs tested it alongside rival Deliveroo in several cities last year. Greggs said that it had decided to work exclusively with Just Eat and will begin to roll out delivery this week, launching first in Bristol and Birmingham. The service will be expanded in the spring to include Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham, with a plan to achieve national coverage by the end of the year. Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside said: ‘We know from the trials we have carried out that our customers love the idea that they can get Greggs delivered directly to their door.’ |
 | Persimmon (PSN) has reported a fall in revenues for 2019 after being beset by scandals over poor housing quality. The company completed about 600 fewer homes last year, with housing revenues falling by 3.5% to £3.42billion, as controversy wracked the firm. Persimmon wrote that the revenue decline ‘reflects the action being taken to ensure the Group delivers improved levels of quality and service to its customers.’ Its new-build homes only sold for an average £137 more than they did last year, at a price of £215,700, with the firm’s Westbury Partnerships division comprising a greater share of its sales. Group chief executive Dave Jenkinson commented: ‘While our plans for delivering a sustained improvement in quality go far beyond a focus on the criteria of the HBF customer satisfaction survey, our current rating, which is trending strongly ahead of the Four Star threshold, is tangible evidence of the improvement we are making.’ |
| Vistry Group PLC (VTY) says it expects to report record profits this year. The Kent-headquartered firm believe pre-tax profits will rise above market expectations of £181.6million for the year, compared to £168.1million last year. The company recently changed its name after completing the acquisition of Galliford Try PLC businesses, including Linden Homes for £1.14billion. Vistry completed 3,867 homes – up 108 on the year before – in the 12 months to December 31, with the average selling price rising from £273,200 to £279,000. The average selling price of private houses rose to £341,000 from £337,400. It added that uncertainty arising from the general election and Brexit impacted on sales, with the cost of new homes decreasing between 1 and 2% in the last six months of the year. | |
 | Quiz (QUIZ) has seen its share price fall sharply after becoming the latest casualty of sluggish sales over Christmas. While the group fared fairly well over the Black Friday period, in the seven weeks to 4 January sales ‘softened’ and revenue slipped over 9%. Online sales fell 14.8% over the period, with the group blaming its termination of a string of deals enabling it to sell its goods via certain third party websites. The chain bemoaned falling footfall at its in-store and concession sites over the last year, revealing that sales at its bricks-and-mortar outlets fell by 7% over Christmas. Quiz websites saw revenues rise 5.9% over the period, driven by a rise in full-price sales as the company cut its promotions against the previous year. |
 | Revolution Bars Group (RBG) says its locations raked in more than £65,000 each on average over the Christmas holidays. The Revolucion de Cuba brand operator saw both higher half-year and Christmas trading revenues last year as the firm closed three poorly performing bars and focused on improving their existing estate. Revolution reported earning £81.2million in revenue for the six months to 28 December, a £2.7million increases on the first half as well as a like-for-like sales increase of 1.2% in the four weeks to New Year’s Eve. This is the seventh year in which the Revolution Bars Group saw greater sales in the festive trading period. It now expects its full-year underlying earnings to ‘have improved in line with market expectations.’ |
| Greggs (GRG) sausage rolls are to be delivered to homes across Britain after the bakery chain struck a deal with takeaway company Just Eat (JE.). The delivery service is launching in Birmingham and Bristol this week, before expanding to Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham during the spring. Bakery chain Greggs – which has enjoyed surging popularity after it launched a vegan sausage roll last year – narrowed its choice of partner down to three contenders over a series of trials in London, Newcastle and Glasgow before choosing Just Eat. The companies said they hoped to go nationwide by the end of 2020. Customers will be able to order the chain’s bakery goods, breakfast products and sandwiches via Just Eat’s app, as the delivery chain expands beyond the takeaway restaurants that have long been its core offering. |
| Quiz (QUIZ) has unveiled dire sales over Christmas, triggering a share price plunge which means the stock has dropped 90% since it floated in July 2017. Revenue in the seven weeks to Jan 4 was 9.3% lower than a year earlier, driven by a 14.8% decline in online sales. Shares dropped a further 17.4% on Wednesday to 15.5p. The stock was floated two and a half years ago for 161p, in a listing which netted a £92m cash pay-out for backers including founder and chief executive Tarak Ramzan. The update is a fresh blow for Mr Ramzan, who last month vowed to boost shares. Mr Ramzan said: “While the trading backdrop remains challenging, it is disappointing to report a decline in revenues in the period.” |
| Sales at Britain’s second-largest housebuilder Persimmon (PSN) dropped last year following a storm of criticism about shoddy workmanship. The developer said a 2.4% fall in revenue to £3.7bn was driven by a decision to slow down building work and boost quality, after a devastating independent report highlighted fire safety issues and a host of other problems with its properties. The number of houses sold in 2019 was also 4% lower than a year earlier. The average selling price rose just £137, to £215,700. The trading update comes after months of criticism of the property giant over the state of its homes, culminating last in December when the scathing report found a toxic culture meant it was failing to meet minimum building standards. |
 | Questor: plumbing giant Ferguson (FERG) sprang a major leak 14 years ago but today it is much more resilient. Buy. Questor share tip: a rocky time for the plumbing supplies company prompted new management to transform the business for the better |
| Tullow Oil (TLW) has warned that it expects to book a $1.5 billion write-down due to lower prices and exploration failures. The group was plunged into turmoil last month when it fired its chief executive and suspended its dividend following repeated exploration and production disappointments. Tullow said yesterday that it would delay publication of its full-year results by a month to give it more time to conduct a sweeping review of the business to cut costs and improve efficiency. It said the pre-tax impairment charge primarily reflected its decision to reduce its long-term oil price assumption to $65 a barrel, from $75, as well as a reduction in the estimated reserves of its Ten field off Ghana. It had also written off the costs of drilling wells off Guyana, where it struck oil last year. It initially described the find as a “transformational opportunity” but later admitted it would be hard to produce and may not be commercially viable. |
| Quiz (QUIZ) announced another drop in sales. The fashion chain, which has 73 shops and 170 concessions, revealed a 9.3% fall in sales over the seven weeks to January 4. That, in turn, pushed the shares down to 15½p, meaning that the company has lost more than 90% of its value since being floated on the stock market two and a half years ago. The retailer, which issued three profit warnings last year, said that trading had “softened” since Black Friday. Sales at its shops fell by 7% during the period, while online sales were down by 14.8% after Quiz severed ties with third-party websites, having decided that they were unprofitable. The group reassured investors that it had a “strong” balance sheet with a £10.7 million net cash position. |
| Vistry Group PLC (VTY) said yesterday that it was set to report record annual profits. Vistry said that it expected to deliver annual profit slightly ahead of a previous forecast of £186.1 million after selling more homes and benefiting from lower costs. In a year-end trading update, the company said that home sales in 2019 had risen by 3% on 2018’s total to 3,867. Building cost savings and a lack of cost inflation helped to improve its operating margin. The average selling price of its homes was £279,000, up from £273,200 a year earlier. “We have a strong forward sales position and trading has been very positive, with consumer confidence returning and industry fundamentals remaining strong,” Vistry said. It expects to report a net cash balance of £362 million, up from £126.8 million a year earlier. That includes the proceeds of a £150 million placing in November to raise funds for the acquisition of Galliford’s housing division. | |
| Persimmon (PSN) said yesterday that it was about to break the £1bn profit again, despite additional spending on building quality and customer service. The company, which became the first housebuilder to break the billion-pound profit barrier in February 2019, said that it expected to report pre-tax profits in line with the market consensus of £1.04 billion, down from £1.09 billion a year earier. The new-build housing market remained buoyant last year, with cheap mortgages and the government’s Help to Buy scheme supporting purchases. Taylor Wimpey, a rival housebuilder, said on Tuesday that it had sold a record number of homes last year and at higher prices, with consumer sentiment “surprisingly robust”. Persimmon said that it was selling homes at a later stage of construction to improve quality and customer service. A £1.5 million review of its operations, commissioned by the company last year, criticised a corporate culture that had resulted in “poor workmanship” and “potentially unsafe” homes. |
| Aston Martin Holdings (AML) needs a cash injection of “at least” £400 million and even that may not be enough to ensure its sustained profitability according to analysts at Jefferies, who claimed yesterday that potential investors should be looking for the British carmaker to complete a “transformational deal” rather than a mere fundraising. Bosses have already confirmed that they are in talks with possible backers, amid speculation that Lawrence Stroll, the Formula One motor racing billionaire, Geely, which owns the Lotus and Volvo car brands, and CATL, the Chinese battery manufacturer, are all considering an investment. As for other potential investors or buyers, analysts reckon there’s little chance of any of the industry giants getting involved, apart from — possibly — Daimler, which supplies engines to Aston Martin. | |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) shares slid after Barclays warned that the stock could nearly halve in value this year. Analysts there think that pressure on net interest margins has been “underappreciated” by investors, particularly if the Bank of England goes ahead and cuts interest rates this month. There is also Brexit. The number-crunchers think that the risk of no-deal is yet to be eliminated and could lead to a “material de-rating” of RBS’s shares. |
| was hammered after it raised £12 million by selling shares at a 49% discount to Tuesday’s closing price. Its shares fell 42½p to 46½p. At the beginning of the year they were changing hands for 115½p. | |
 | Clipper Logistics (CLG) drops plan to go private. The decision to abandon plans by its founder to take a delivery group private led to a fall of more than 5% in its shares yesterday. Sun Capital confirmed yesterday that it would not make a formal bid after it had failed to agree a price with Clipper’s board. Clipper, which makes deliveries for retailers such as Asos and John Lewis, said that it had spoken to several shareholders about a valuation, but that Sun could not match their price. “Consequently, both sides agreed to terminate discussions,” Clipper said in a stock exchange statement. Under UK takeover rules, Sun and Mr Parkin cannot reopen talks for six months unless another suitor comes forward. Mr Parkin, 59, owns a third of the company after its flotation in London five years ago, from which he made £30 million. |
 | Tempus – Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK): Avoid. Outlook is uncertain but growth likely to be muted and yield is not justified by price |
 | Tempus – Spectris (SXS): Hold. It has been prepared for growth and needs to deliver |
 | The immediate future of Flybe Group (FLYB) was secured on Tuesday night after ministers agreed a rescue deal with shareholders to keep Europe’s largest regional carrier flying. The package of measures includes a potential loan in the region of £100m and/or a possible short-term deferral of a £106m air passenger duty (APD) bill, plus a pledge to review taxes on domestic flights before the March budget. After the spectre was raised of another UK airline failure, Flybe’s owners Connect Airways – a consortium led by Virgin Atlantic – were persuaded to commit millions more to cover ongoing losses. The government is still in negotiations to finalise any loan to Flybe, and although Treasury sources denied reports that it had agreed to defer outstanding APD, it is understood that HMRC could allow the airline a short-term extension to settle its debt. |
  | The stock market value of the online fashion firm Boohoo.com (BOO) has overtaken Marks & Spencer thanks to strong Christmas sales, while Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) was warned it faces a possible downgrade in its investment rating to junk status. Sales at Boohoo jumped 44% in the weeks before 25 December, while M&S suffered fresh setbacks. Last week the high street stalwart revealed it had bought too many tight-fitting jeans and chinos. Boohoo’s shares climbed 5% to 334p on Tuesday. The stock has risen more than 70% over the past year, boosting the Aim-listed company’s market worth to £3.9bn. The update came as Moody’s credit ratings agency said it was considering cutting M&S’s investment rating to junk, sending its shares down 2% to 185p and pulling its market capitalisation at £3.6bn. |
 | Games Workshop Group (GAW) is hoping to replicate the success of hit fantasy TV shows such as The Witcher with a new series based on its Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. As the high-street fantasy-figure seller’s shares hit an all-time high, the company said a series based on the Eisenhorn books, set in the game’s dystopian universe, was in development. The novels follow the adventures of the Imperial Inquisitor Gregor Eisenhorn as he scours the galaxy for heretics and demons. The Games Workshop chief executive, Kevin Rountree, said work on the show was progressing well as the company reported record half-year sales and profits. “No production contracts have been signed yet,” he said. “Our experts continue to work with our external partners learning how this industry works to ensure, if it does go into production, our first TV show is not only true to our IP but is a commercial success too.” |
| Flybe Group (FLYB) saved after rescue deal brokered with government. Regional airline in line for tax deferrals, potential state loan and cash injection from owners |
| Lombard – Boohoo.com (BOO) margin: less sustainable than its model? Online retailer has bet on celebrity collaborations but profitability is hurting |
 | Andrew Tinkler dumps Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) stake. Former CEO and fifth-largest shareholder severs ties with group that sacked him |
| Games Workshop Group (GAW) ‘in great shape’ as shares hit record high. Fantasy games retailer posts record figures boosted by US and strength of Warhammer |
| Lex – Flybe Group (FLYB)/state aid: from bad to Wurzel. The regional airline deserves no special breaks |
| Boohoo.com (BOO) worth more than M&S after sales upgrade. Online fashion retailer’s shares rise to record high as growth outstrips rivals |
 | GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is well advanced in developing a suite of vaccines which will guard against respiratory viruses in children and lung diseases in adults – part of a pipeline of 17 ground-breaking treatments. The British drugs giant is the world leader in vaccines with a turnover of £5.9billion in the first nine months of the year. The company’s Shingrix vaccine, used to defend against shingles, is a global blockbuster, widely available in the US, Germany and Canada, and has generated £1.3billion of sales so far in the current financial year – double the sales of a year earlier. The speed of the take-off in Shingrix has led Glaxo to update sales projections twice this year and the group is adding a new production line to meet unexpectedly strong global demand. |
 | Canadian gold miner Endeavour has abandoned plans for a £1.5billion merger with Centamin (DI) (CEY). Endeavour said it had received ‘insufficient’ information about Centamin’s books before a deadline last night. Endeavour had been hoping Centamin would extend the deadline – which meant it had to put in a firm offer or walk away – but when this was rejected it decided to abandon the tie-up. The two companies began talks in December to strike a better deal after Centamin rebuffed an initial £1.5billion bid, which would have seen its investors receive Endeavour shares. Centamin, which is now hoping to bolster production in Egypt at its main mine, insists there were ‘comprehensive’ negotiations but its board was not convinced the deal would pay off for shareholders. |
| The former boss of Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) who took the company to court in a fiery boardroom battle has dumped his 5% stake in the firm. Andrew Tinkler sold 375m shares on Monday, according to stock market filings. It is not known how much they were sold for, but at market prices they are worth £21million. Tinkler, who was chief executive from 2007 to 2017, oversaw the break-up of the firm in 2014 when he sold the trucking part of the business, Eddie Stobart Logistics, to private equity firm Douglas Bay Capital. |
 | A builder and his wife could rake in millions from dividends after a North Sea oil company said it would start handing cash back to shareholders. David and Debbie Hardy own an almost 11% stake in Serica Energy (SQZ) worth £39million – making them the firm’s second largest shareholder. Serica said it will announce its maiden dividend when it releases full-year results in April.It follows a ‘strong’ year in which it paid off its remaining debts to BP, after it bought the oil major’s stake in three North Sea sites in 2018, and the amount of oil produced rose 13% to around 30,000 barrels a day. |
 | Taylor Wimpey (TW.) cheered ‘increased political stability’ in the UK following last month’s General Election as it posted a rise in sales. The housebuilder said the market had remained stable in 2019 despite Brexit uncertainty, with the number of homes the company sold rising 5% to 15,719. The average selling price rose 1% to £305,000 during the year, and it ended 2019 with a record order book worth £2.2billion. Boss Peter Redfern said: ‘The environment is more positive at this point than we have seen for the past couple of years. ‘There is a bit of pent-up demand there.’ |
 | Weybridge based recruitment company Pagegroup (PAGE) posted lower fourth quarter profits. Slowdowns in China and the UK have been blamed by the firm for a 0.4% fall to £205.6 million. The company still managed to register a 5% increase in annual profits for the 2019 financial year to £856million. PageGroup say the drop in the final part of the year was caused in part by Brexit-related uncertainty. It attributed trade tariff uncertainty in China, the Hong Kong democracy protests, and the devastating bushfires in Australia as the reasons for the performance in Asia. |
| Boohoo.com (BOO) enjoyed ‘record’ results in the final four months of last year and has upped its performance forecasts, throwing its ailing bricks-and-mortar based counterparts into the shade. The group said all its brands, including Boohoo, Nasty Gal and Pretty Little Thing, performed ‘exceptionally’ over the period. Bucking the recent retail trend for profit warnings and disappointing results over the festive period, Boohoo raised both its full-year revenue and margin outlook. |
| The boom times keep on coming for fantasy games company Games Workshop Group (GAW) as the Warhammer maker posted record half-year profits. Higher licensing income and trade volumes helped the fantasy miniatures giant also score a record £148.4million in sales. Online sales grew by 15% to £24.2million at the Nottingham firm, while retail sales expanded in every country. Kevin Rountree, CEO of Games Workshop, said: ‘Our business and the Warhammer Hobby continue to be in great shape. We are pleased to once again report record sales and profit levels in the period. ‘The global team have worked their socks off to deliver these great results. My thanks go out to them all.’ |
  | Live Company Group (LVCG) was on the up after inking a three-year deal with Entertainment One Limited (ETO). This will give it the rights to use characters from the phenomenally successful cartoon series Peppa Pig in its Brick Live tours in the UK and Ireland. It expects to launch the first Peppa Pig-themed tour, where under-12s take part in brick-building games and activities, later this year. |
 | The uncovering of an elaborate scam sent shares in Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) crashing to an all-time low. The oil company had been duped into believing it had secured a £142million loan from the Qatar Investment Authority, which it was going to put towards further drilling off the coast of Nigeria. So sure was it that it had clinched the loan, it announced the deal to the stock market on January 2, causing shares to more than double. But it had actually been tricked into paying £462,000 to individuals based in the Bahamas at a company called Seawave, who were pretending to represent the sovereign wealth fund. It took more than a week for the Qataris to confirm they had nothing to do with the loan. Lekoil is now scrambling to find nearly £31million by next month or it could be forced to sell its stake in the same field it is trying to develop. |
 | Mcbride (MCB) had a bruising day after it warned profits will be around 15% lower than expected this year. The cleaning product maker said costs were going up as sales were falling. It appointed a new chief executive, Ludwig de Mot, in November and is reviewing the business. But shares dropped as investors fretted that it may still have a long way to go to get back on track. |
| Flybe Group (FLYB) was pulled back from the brink on Tuesday night after ministers backed a controversial deal to delay a £106m tax bill, saving more than 2,000 jobs and averting chaos for thousands of passengers. Europe’s biggest regional carrier – which is backed by billionaire Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson – struck an agreement which will allow it to delay handing over air passenger duty payments collected on behalf of customers. However, the deal was slammed as “a blatant misuse of public funds” by one of the air industry’s most prominent figures. Willie Walsh, the outgoing chief executive of British Airways owner IAG who has repeatedly clashed with Sir Richard, said: “Prior to the acquisition of Flybe by the consortium, which includes Virgin/Delta, Flybe argued for taxpayers to fund its operations by subsidising regional routes. Virgin/Delta now want the taxpayer to pick up the tab for their mismanagement of the airline.” |
| Jeff Fairburn, the former Persimmon (PSN) boss ousted following a furore over his £75m bonus, has found a new job as chief executive of a Yorkshire housebuilding company. The under-fire executive has bought a 50% stake in Berkeley Deveer, a privately owned developer in the north of England which he is now set to run. The move, first reported by The Times, comes against a backdrop of criticism levelled at Fairburn, who was asked to leave Persimmon in 2018 after the company said that his huge payout was having a “negative impact” on the firm’s reputation. “It seems like the proverbial round of football managers. You get a team relegated one week and go join another one the next week,” said Clive Betts, the most recent chair of Parliament’s Communities and Local Government Committee. |
| Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) shares plunged more than 70% today in its first day of dealings after it emerged it may have been scammed over a non-existent $184m (£157m) loan. Investors dumped the AIM-listed company which had suspended its shares throughout Monday after it emerged it may have been tricked into thinking it was getting a loan from the Qatar Investment Authority. The case is an embarassment for Mark Simmonds, the former Africa minister and MP who joined the board of Lekoil last week. He is now leading an investigation into the loan, of which he had no prior involvement. Lekoil had paid a $600,000 arrangement fee to a company called Seawave Invest which it now believes introduced it to people pretending to be from the QIA with whom it set up the loan. |
| Boohoo.com (BOO) value hit a new high on Tuesday after the online retailer’s shares rocketed on the back of strong sales – overtaking high street rival Marks & Spencer, which faced a warning over its profit growth. Revenues at the online fast-fashion retailer jumped 44% to more than £1bn in the 10 months to the end of December. The increase means founders Carol Kane and Mahmud Kamani’s holdings are worth £104m and £505m respectively. Meanwhile, rating agency Moody’s raised fears that M&S will be unable to stop profits shrinking further as it fights to turn its fortunes around. |
| A collaboration with Little Mix and growth overseas have turbocharged sales at Boohoo.com (BOO), prompting the fast-fashion retailer to boost its forecasts again as it heaps more pain on its high street rivals. Boohoo is now valued at £3.87 billion, more than Marks & Spencer, after its shares rose to 333¾p thanks to its “record” sales over the festive period. The online fashion retailer, best known for its bargain body-con dresses that appeal to its young customer base, unveiled a 44% surge in group sales to £473.7 million for the four months to the end of 2019. The company said the strong trading performance led it to expect full-year sales growth of 40% to 42%, compared with earlier forecasts of 33% to 38%. Boohoo said that it had a medium-term growth target of 25%, assuming that its market-defying sales performance cannot continue indefinitely. |
| One of the world’s most powerful fund management groups has warned company bosses to get to grips with climate change and sustainability or it may move to vote them off the board at their next shareholder meeting. In its annual “Dear CEO” letter, published yesterday, Blackrock told corporate executives that it would be putting an assessment of a company’s environmental, social and governance practices at the centre of decisions about whether to buy or sell its shares. Larry Fink, 67, Blackrock’s chairman and chief executive, urged the companies whose shares it owns to publish their progress on sustainability in line with globally recognised benchmarks. He said that Blackrock, as the steward of its customers’ money, had a responsibility to engage with directors over issues such as climate risk. “Given the groundwork we have laid engaging on disclosure and the growing investment risks surrounding sustainability, we will be increasingly disposed to vote against management and directors when companies are not making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures,” he wrote. | |
| Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) paid heavily yesterday for admitting that it had paid $600,000 for a crucial $184 million loan agreement that turned out to be fake as its shares lost almost three quarters of their value. The Nigerian oil explorer is likely to have to ask shareholders for cash to replace the loan or risk losing its most important asset, analysts warned. Lekoil announced a loan from the Qatar Investment Authority on January 2, only to be told by the sovereign wealth fund on Sunday that no such loan existed. It said that it had paid $600,000 to Seawave Invest Limited for arranging the deal and introducing it to supposed QIA representatives and that there was no guarantee of recouping the cash. Seawave has denied any wrongdoing. |
| The former chief executive of Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) has dumped his entire stake in the group that owns Southend airport, raising an estimated £21 million and ending his association with the business after a boardroom row. According to a regulatory filing yesterday, Andrew Tinkler, 56, disposed on Monday of his remaining 4.975% stake in Stobart Group, which also owns Carlisle and Teesside airports and is involved in rail and other civil engineering projects. Mr Tinkler was one of the leading developers of the Stobart brand. |
| Games Workshop Group (GAW) defies the gloom on the high street with the help of Chaos and Destruction, the mythical factions of its Age of Sigmar franchise, to thank for helping it to defy the gloom. The retailer has become a surprise success story, with its share price doubling last year to value it at £2 billion. Games Workshop reported that group revenue had risen by 18.5% to £148.4 million in the six months to December 1. Pre-tax profits have grown by 44% to £58.6 million. Kevin Rountree, 50, the chief executive who joined the business 22 years ago as assistant group accountant, said: “We are pleased to once again report record sales and profit.” |
 | DFS Furniture (DFS) has moved to reassure the City that its profits will be “broadly” in line with expectations, despite sales being hit by a slump in shopper visits at its stores in the second half of last year. Sales at DFS fell by 6% in the six months to December 30, with the sofa chain blaming a “challenging consumer environment, particularly in August and September”. DFS said that its sofa orders had strengthened recently and that its key winter sale trading period had started “satisfactorily”, suggesting that consumers might be feeling more confident to make big-ticket purchases after the election result. DFS said that despite continuing economic uncertainty, it was encouraged by online sales growth and a good customer response to its showroom refurbishments. It based a prediction that sales would rise in “low single digits” on an expected boost from new shops and recent trading momentum. |
| Mcbride (MCB) investors headed for the exit as one of Europe’s largest suppliers of cleaning products warned that profits would be about 15% lower than expected because of rising costs and falling sales. McBride said that the UK had proved a particularly difficult market, with the final two months of the year slowing further. There was better news elsewhere for the maker of Limelite kitchen and Clean’n’Fresh, with growth in its Asian markets at about 10.7%. The company said: “In the absence of significant raw material cost changes, the board now expects full-year adjusted to be approximately 15% lower than current market expectations, reflecting the impact of lower revenues.” It also said that it had initiated a review of its strategy and operations. |
 | A leading shareholder in Consort Medical (CSRT) has come out against a “galling low-ball” £505 million takeover offer from a Swedish rival. JO Hambro Capital Management said that Recipharm’s recent £10.10-a-share cash bid was opportunistic and that Consort’s board had been surprisingly quick to recommend it to shareholders. The investor suggested that should the takeover fail, new management should pursue a different strategy, including repairing and selling Consort’s struggling Aesica division. |
 | A profit warning by Elementis (ELM) yesterday sent the shares 15% lower. The London-listed chemicals group fell after it said that its annual profits would fall short of expectations. Elementis blamed “somewhat subdued” trading in the final three months of the year as it said that adjusted operating profits were set to fall to between $122 million and $124 million, from $133 million last year. Paul Waterman, chief executive, said that trading across “the more cyclically exposed parts” of its operations had deteriorated during the second half. “Our overall performance in 2019 has been negatively impacted by a challenging market backdrop,” he said. Analysts revised their forecasts, with Numis cutting its rating on the shares from “buy” to “add” and reducing its projections for the coming year by about 5%. |
 | Grafton Group Units (GFTU) lifted its full-year profit forecast by 5% thanks to trading conditions that were better than expected. Its shares closed up 36½p at 894½p. Analysts at Numis were reassured by the upgrade, three months after Grafton had issued a profit warning that it blamed on a Brexit-induced fall in demand. Numis said the latest report indicated that “market conditions have not worsened |
| A Canadian goldminer has walked away from a £1.5 billion bid for Centamin (DI) (CEY), its smaller, London-listed rival. Endeavour Mining claimed that it had received insufficient information to support a firm offer for Centamin, a company focused on Egypt, by a “put up or shut up” deadline of yesterday. Centamin said that the talks had ended owing to a disagreement over valuation, as its board had concluded that the possible offer was too low. Under takeover panel rules, Endeavour will be barred from making another approach for six months. Ross Gerrard, Centamin’s chief executive, denied that it had not provided enough information. He added that Centamin had agreed with the “strategic rationale” of moving away from the risks of having a single asset in a single country, but that it had issues with substantially increasing its exposure to the “high-risk jurisdiction” of Burkina Faso. |
 | Tempus – Dunelm Group (DNLM): Buy. Hugely revitalised and resilient, with improving margins and first-class online offering, and more to give |
 | Tempus – Morgan Advanced Materials (MGAM): Hold. With the industrial cycle set to turn, the shares should recover even further |
| The government has been urged to do “whatever it takes” to ensure the survival of Flybe Group (FLYB), Europe’s largest regional carrier, as trade unions and MPs demanded the rescue of an airline that operates almost two in five British domestic flights. The Exeter-based airline, which flies 8.5 million passengers a year between 56 airports across the UK and mainland Europe, is seeking financial help from ministers to stave off a collapse that would put more than 2,000 jobs at risk. The airline and government declined to comment on reports of ongoing talks between the carrier and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport, about whether the government might provide or facilitate emergency financing. Sky News reported on Monday evening that Flybe had asked the government to defer a multi-million pound air passenger duty bill in order to see the airline through the rest of the winter. Mark Anderson, the chief executive of Connect, told Flybe staff in an email on Monday morning: “We continue to operate as normal … I do appreciate that the headlines are disturbing but I want you to know that we are determined to everything we can to make this work. “What I now ask from all of us is that we all remain focused on our responsibilities and continue to work and support each other as a team to deliver what we know we can do.” |
| The government has been urged to rethink its tax and benefit rules for low-paid workers after it emerged that some staff at the bakery chain Greggs (GRG) could get to keep just a quarter of their £300 annual bonus as a result of universal credit deductions. Greggs announced last week that its 25,000 workers would receive a windfall of up to £300 under a £7m reward scheme linked in part to the success of the company’s vegan sausage rolls. However, benefits experts have pointed out that some staff who are on universal credit will keep as little as £75 after tax and national insurance (NI) are paid and bonus earnings clawed back by the government at a rate of 63p in the pound. Benefits consultant Gareth Morgan said the clawing back of the bonuses through universal credit meant that the government might ultimately be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the Greggs reward scheme. |
| A small Nigerian oil company has revealed an alleged scam after handing over $600,000 to a consultancy which had promised to help to arrange a loan from the Qatari Investment Authority. Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) had already revealed the $184m (£142m) loan agreement to its investors earlier this month, when representatives from the Qatari fund approached the oil minnow over the weekend to question “the validity” of the deal. Shares in the Nigeria-based company were immediately pulled from the London’s junior Aim market while lawyers from Lekoil sought to find the “full facts of this matter”. Lekoil paid an initial arrangement fee of $600,000 to Seawave Invest, which is registered in the Bahamas, for introducing Lekoil’s advisers to individuals “purporting to be from the QIA” to discuss the loan. Lekoil said it “will be contacting the relevant authorities across a number of jurisdictions without delay” to report “what appears to be an attempt to defraud” the company. A spokeswoman for Seawave did not respond to a request for comment. |
| Finablr PLC (FIN) – The foreign currency firm Travelex says it is making good progress in recovering from an attack from ransomware hackers and is starting to switch its systems back on again. As of noon on Monday, however, its global websites, including those aimed at UK and US customers, were still offline, as were the online travel money services of companies that use Travelex, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Tesco Bank and Asda. Travelex said it had contained the virus and that its investigations showed that no customer data has been breached to date. It is in communication with the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – which is part of GCHQ – and the Metropolitan police. Tony D’Souza, the chief executive of Travelex, said: “We continue to make good progress with our recovery and have already completed a considerable amount in the background.” He said the firm was now in a position to start restoring functionality at its partner and customer services, and that it would provide more information in the coming days. |
 | Lex – Pennon Group (PNN)/Viridor: waste high. Mooted enterprise value of 18 times ebitda looks rich |
 | Lex – Savills (SVS)/UK property: prime mover. Politics poses a lingering risk on the sector |
 | Lombard – William Hill (WMH) will have few regrets over US and CEO bets. Switching horses to third chief in 3 years looks less of a gamble given digital opportunities |
 | AstraZeneca (AZN) takes $100m hit after failed heart drug trial. Group reviews $533m valuation of Epanova after disappointing test results |
| Lekoil Ltd (DI) (LEK) shares suspended after Qatari loan queried. Nigeria-focused oil producer says it is victim of alleged fraud from a bogus financing deal |
| William Hill (WMH) says annual profits to exceed forecasts. String of favourable sports results boost UK bookmaker despite regulatory crackdown |
 | London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) set to send $27bn Refinitiv deal to EU watchdog. All-share deal would transform London bourse and more than triple its revenues |
© Vox Markets 2024. All rights reserved.
Follow @VOXmarketsTerms and conditions | Community standards | Compliance | Privacy and cookie policy
Prices and trades are delayed by at least 15 minutes. Vox Markets takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information within this site. All times quoted are based on the current time in London, UK.