| Britain’s biggest housebuilders should be slapped with hefty fines if they are guilty of shoddy workmanship, senior politicians and campaigners have said. Ministers are being urged to ensure a New Homes Ombudsman has the power to penalise developers guilty of poor building standards. A spate of housebuilding scandals – culminating in a devastating report last month on Persimmon, one of Britain’s biggest residential developers – have pushed the Government into what is widely-seen as a long-overdue crackdown on substandard practices. The Queen’s Speech proposed a law requiring property developers to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman scheme, which could investigate complaints and award compensation. | |
 | Retail chief Katie Bickerstaffe’s short-lived career leading major energy supplier SSE (SSE) is to end within weeks. The former Dixons Carphone executive will quit her role chairing SSE Energy Services when the company’s sale to Ovo completes, which is likely to happen this month. She was originally hired in 2018 to run a new energy business due to be formed out of a planned merger between SSE Energy Services and rival Npower. But the 51-year-old was appointed as chairman instead when that merger fell through last year, tasked with helping the supplier split from SSE, either through a listing or sale. |
 | Investors dumped shares in high street darling Joules Group (JOUL) after problems in its supply chain resulted in a shock profit warning. The retailer, known for its colourful wellington boots and Breton stripe tops, admitted sales over the Christmas period suffered after it ran out of stock to sell online. Sales during the seven weeks to Jan 5 fell 4.5% compared with a year earlier, when they were up 11.7%. Joules expects to incur one-off costs in the short term due to changes made to its logistics operations as well as the impact from US-China trade tariffs. |
 | Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) is entering talks to secure new funding from Chinese backers as it seeks to capitalise on a long-awaited truce with Apple. The Hertfordshire-based technology company plans to raise new funds for an expansion drive, two-and-a-half-years after it was bought out by a Beijing-backed private equity firm. Imagination had become one of Britain’s top-listed tech companies due to a lucrative supply agreement with Apple, but was put up for sale and taken off the London Stock Exchange in 2017 after the iPhone maker revealed plans to design its own graphics chips. Business from Apple accounted for around half of its sales and Imagination’s survival was seen as uncertain after royalties from the US giant dried up. |
 | The Church of England has thrown its weight behind a landmark investor campaign urging Barclays (BARC) to phase out the financing of fossil fuel companies. The Church Commissioners, the fund which invests the institution’s money, has pledged to back a formal challenge against Barclays at its investor meeting in May in an attempt to get Europe’s biggest funder of fossil fuels to stop financing projects that are not aligned with the Paris climate agreement. The proposal was put forward last week by a group of pension funds and asset managers looking after £130bn worth of assets, and is believed to be the first of its kind against a European bank. Edward Mason, head of responsible investment at the Church Commissioners, said the Church was “very supportive” of the resolution. “We continue to urge all companies whose activities have a significant impact on climate change, to ensure their strategy is aligned with the requirements of the Paris agreement,” he said. |
| Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has emerged as the latest company to weigh up a cash injection into struggling luxury carmaker Aston Martin Holdings (AML). The battery giant has been in talks with Aston executives in recent weeks with an eye on taking a stake in the 107-year-old British business, sources told Sky News. Its interest has emerged days after it was reported that Geely, the Chinese owner of Volvo and Lotus, is mulling a cash injection in the business. Geely also makes London’s electric black cabs and owns a stake in German firm Daimler, which already sells technology and engines to Aston. In December it emerged that Canadian Formula One billionaire Lawrence Stroll could also throw Aston a lifeline. He is believed to be closing in on a £200m cash injection in return for a 20% stake in the business. | |
| Trainline Plc (TRN) has locked horns with its former owner Sir Richard Branson by launching its own version of “split ticketing”. The London-listed company, launched by Virgin Group in 1997 and sold to private equity in 2006, is to roll out SplitSave, a legal loophole that will save beleaguered commuters up to £260-a-year each. The move comes just days after Virgin Rail launched its own app, hoping to break the stranglehold Trainline has on buying train tickets online in the UK by offering a split ticketing service. Trainline floated on the stock market last year and is worth more than £2.2bn. Sir Richard’s more than two decade tenure running British rail services came to an end in 2019 after a bid to continue running the lucrative west coast train line was disqualified by the Government. | |
 | Questor: SEGRO (SGRO) shares have risen by 80% since 2017. This is why they are still worth buying. Questor share tip: the warehouse developer benefits from the scarcity of suitable properties and strong demand from tenants |
 | Willie Walsh, the outgoing chief executive of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG), is in a relationship with a colleague, which could raise questions over governance at the British Airways owner. IAG announced the retirement of the 58-year-old aviation veteran last week after 15 years during which he built an aviation powerhouse. In an announcement that surprised investors, IAG said Walsh would stand down in March and be replaced by Iberia boss Luis Gallego. Just two months ago, Walsh said he planned to retire before his 60th birthday on October 25, 2021. However, IAG did not interview external candidates for the job, which is one of the most high-profile roles in the aviation industry. Walsh will leave the board in March and officially retire from the company in June. Last night, IAG said that Walsh’s relationship with his subordinate, who is understood to work in the finance department, was not connected to his departure. “Willie’s personal life has nothing to do with the timing of his retirement,” said the company. “IAG has an excellent internal candidate in Luis Gallego, which is why no external candidates were interviewed.” |
 | Concerns over the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, Donald Trump’s trade war and Brexit have delayed the launch of a £1bn British business fund planned by HSBC Holdings (HSBA) and a Chinese sovereign wealth giant. The fund, announced last June by then chancellor Philip Hammond, is a collaboration between the $200bn (£150bn) China Investment Corporation (CIC) and the Asia-focused bank. Its intention is to invest in British companies with ambitions to grow in China. However, sources close to the plan said geopolitical tensions last year, including Brexit, had delayed the fund’s launch. |
   | Britain’s biggest bookmakers are braced for a ban on credit-card betting as the backlash against the perceived exploitation of vulnerable customers intensifies. The crackdown — which will involve a full ban or curbs such as spending limits — is likely to see gamblers forced to use debit cards to place bets, which will limit how much they can wager. The new rules will be set out in a report from the Gambling Commission. “We’re all expecting a ban,” said a senior industry source, who added that the announcement could come as soon as this week. Websites such as Bet365, 888 Holdings (888), PokerStars and Betfair all allow customers to make deposits using credit cards. That has been cited as a key factor in the rise of problem gambling, as it allows punters to rack up huge debts online. The commission said it would recommend a ban or restrict the use of credit cards. Industry sources said they were preparing for a ban or, at the very least, heavy restrictions, such as limiting customers to the use of one card only. The move is likely to hit the shares of betting operators, which have already taken a hammering from the clampdown on fixed-odds betting terminals, dubbed the “crack cocaine” of gambling because of their addictiveness. The maximum stake on one spin was slashed from £100 to £2, prompting William Hill (WMH), Betfred and GVC Holdings (GVC), owner of brands such as Ladbrokes, to warn that profits would be destroyed and hundreds of betting shops would close. Experts have likened the reform sweeping through the industry to the crackdown on banks for the mis-selling scandals that emerged after the financial crisis. It has prompted operators to strengthen their controls. |
| Aston Martin Holdings (AML) is said to have attracted interest from a Chinese electrical vehicle battery maker. James Bond’s favoured marque stunned the City with a profit warning last week, saying it was in talks “with potential strategic investors which may or may not involve an equity investment”. Sky News reported that China’s CATL had held talks with Aston Martin. This weekend the Financial Times reported China’s Geely, which owns a stake in Daimler, was also considering injecting cash, but the paper said Lawrence Stroll, a billionaire Formula One team owner, was closest to making an investment of £200m to take a 20% stake. | |
  | ITV (ITV) wants to buy rights to some Champions League games from BT Group (BT.A) to bring live coverage of Europe’s most prestigious football competition back to terrestrial television. The broadcaster has begun talks with the former telecoms monopoly after being left empty-handed in the TV rights auction in November. The telecoms giant, led by Philip Jansen, has the power to sell on rights to rivals, but must weigh that against the benefits of remaining the only place to watch the competitions. ITV’s latest attempt to get its hands on Champions League football is part of a broader fightback against American streaming giants such as Netflix, which are luring viewers away from terrestrial TV with their on-demand services. |
   | The online fast-fashion retailer Boohoo.com (BOO) is set to leave its high street rivals in the dust when it reports Christmas sales this week. Analysts at Jefferies estimate that its sales will have leapt by a third in the final four months of the year amid heavy marketing spending by the company to win customers. Primark, Associated British Foods (ABF), is expected to report on Thursday that like- for-like sales across its stores in the UK, continental Europe and America were flat over the Christmas period, which would be a robust showing for a business that sells exclusively on the high street. Growing awareness of the environmental impact of fast fashion poses potential problems for the sector, yet there is little sign that British shoppers have lost their appetite for cheap and trendy clothes. The war for customers is heating up online, squeezing profit margins at the likes of ASOS (ASC) and Missguided. Boohoo.com (BOO), led by executive chairman Mahmud Kamani, recently teamed up with the supermodel Cara Delevingne for a “party collection”, which includes tiger-print miniskirts and crop tops. Investors will also be keen to hear about sales at Karen Millen and Coast. Boohoo bought the two brands out of administration to broaden its age appeal beyond teenagers and young women. |
| The founder of Amigo Holdings (AMGO) has banked a £2.9m dividend despite a profit warning at the guarantor lender, a surge in customer complaints and fears of a regulatory crackdown. James Benamor, who controls listed Amigo through Richmond Group, banked the dividend after profits at his holding company edged up to £70.8m in the year to the end of last March, from £66.9m the year before. | |
| Embattled travel money firm Travelex is thought to be aiming to start resuming services this week — although it could be much longer before it resumes normal operations after a cyber-attack on New Year’s Eve. Yesterday its website continued to show a message saying its online travel money service was not available and that the National Crime Agency and the Metropolitan Police were investigating, after ransomware crippled Travelex’s systems. Hackers are believed to have demanded $6m (£4.6m). The company will start to tell big customers tomorrow about a resumption of services during the week. It would not comment on whether it has paid a ransom or expand on a statement by its parent company, Finablr PLC (FIN), which said there was no evidence that “any data had been exfiltrated”. | |
 | Wealth managers have had a tough time of late. The screw has been turned on fees, tightened by the rise of tracker funds. Although investors kept some of their powder dry last year, because of political uncertainty, Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) still saw net inflows of £1.4bn into its discretionary funds run by managers. Analysts at Liberum said the inflows were “well ahead of peers”. The company has its roots in a stockbroking firm established by John Dawes, a member of the London Stock Exchange, in 1762. It has amassed £45bn of funds under management, positioning it as one of the top-10 largest wealth managers in the UK. Shares have risen 6% over the past year to 352.8p. Costs have jumped too, however, to £266m last year, up from £252m in 2018, as Brewin poached more staff to expand, opening an office in Tunbridge Wells and expanding in Cambridge. That dented profit before tax, which came in at £63m last year, down from £69m the previous year. “Brewin is not as efficient as it could be,” said Stuart Duncan at broker Peel Hunt. “It needs to grow into its cost-base, by generating more revenues.” Liberum said, “Our estimates assume 2020 net flows at the same level of 2019,”. Still, Brewin has an attractive dividend yield at 4.7%, compared with a sector average of 3.6%. With economic uncertainty and higher costs, it is not a steal, but not worth ditching. Hold. |
 | Julian Dunkerton’s dreams of delivering a festive turnaround lay in tatters as Superdry (SDRY) warned that its profits could be wiped out after a nightmare Christmas performance. The fashion retailer blamed “unprecedented” levels of discounting by rivals along with subdued consumer demand for a collapse in sales, and warned that it would now make between zero and £10 million of underlying profits this year. Analysts had already lowered their expectations to £20 million after poor half-year results last month. |
 | Better late bookings over the Christmas and new year period than had been expected, and at higher prices, mean that Ryanair Holdings (RYA) stalling profits will not be as bad as the discount airline had feared. However, the carrier’s attempt to crack Germany took some of the gloss off the holiday figures, with losses in Europe’s largest aviation market rising during a cut-throat price war with Lufthansa and Easyjet. In an unscheduled trading update, Ryanair said that it expected to carry 154 million passengers in the year to the end of March, a million more than had been estimated previously. Those higher fares mean that Europe’s busiest short-haul airline now expects after-tax profits of about €1 billion. That compares with previous guidance of between €800 million and €900 million. |
| Investors in Joules Group (JOUL) took fright after a shock profit warning, admitting that “a wrong number incorrectly entered into a spreadsheet” had caused a shortage of stock for online orders. Shares in Joules tumbled after it said that this year’s underlying profits would be “significantly below market expectations”. Liberum, its house broker, slashed its share price target to 260p from 400p and lowered its profit forecast from £16 million to £10 million. |
 | JD Sports Fashion (JD.) lived up to its “king of trainers” slogan by defying the wider retail gloom to reveal that its profits will be at the top of City expectations. The sportswear chain declined to give a sales figure for its performance over Christmas, other than to say that it had achieved “positive like-for-like trends” across its sports stores, particularly overseas. It said that it was confident that its headline pre-tax profits would be in the upper range of between £403 million and £433 million, which would be a 20% rise on last year’s £355.2 million. Analysts at Berenberg said that it was a typically “qualitative” trading statement from the retailer, which is run by Peter Cowgill, 66. “We also note that management are typically conservative with guidance at this stage, anyway, having gone on to beat January guidance at full-year results by around 2% in each of the last two years,” Graham Renwick, an analyst at Berenberg, said. |
 | Sluggish growth dragged shares in B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) lower after its sales over the festive period left investors decidedly unimpressed. Simon Arora, 50, defended B&M’s performance and said that “against the backdrop of a difficult UK retail environment, with reduced shopper footfall and political uncertainty, our core B&M UK business generated continued growth and delivered a record level of peak season sales.” B&M is understood to have suffered from a weakness in toy sales, echoing Sainsbury’s complaint that an industry slump was behind lower sales at Argos, its catalogue retailer. Analysts at Peel Hunt said: “B&M thinks that there’s been a general malaise among shoppers — has the average child been naughtier this year than last? — and also that the lack of a blockbuster film or product hasn’t helped. Could it be more structural and that kids want an app rather than Buckaroo?” |
| John Lewis has warned it could ditch the annual bonus for its 81,000 employees as it flagged another big fall in profits and announced the departure of its department store boss. Paula Nickolds, who has been at the partnership for 25 years, is stepping down by mutual agreement next month before a previously announced management restructure. She has led the department store chain for three years, during which its profits have dived from more than £250m to potentially less than £50m this year. Nickolds said she was leaving after “some reflection on the responsibilities of her proposed new role” under the new chairman, Dame Sharon White, who takes the helm in early February. Nickolds’ departure comes as Rob Collins, the boss of Waitrose, exits this month. The retail group, which owns Waitrose supermarkets as well as its namesake department store chain, said it would consider next month whether to axe the bonus payment to staff for the first time in 67 years after sales fell by 1.8% over the key Christmas period. | |
 | Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) shares fell sharply after its Christmas sales were dented by rivals’ discounts as well as its own buying mistakes after it stocked up on too many men’s skinny jeans and mince pies. A pickup in trade in M&S food halls over the holiday period helped the high street retailer deliver its first positive quarterly sales in three years but the success of its resurgent food division was overshadowed by higher levels of waste, which eroded profitability. The chief executive, Steve Rowe, said its clothing division had faced a challenging trading environment in the lead-up to Christmas: “There was unprecedented discounting by competitors between Black Friday and Christmas and that made December a challenging month and affected our gifting sales.” |
 | Tesco (TSCO) has emerged as one of the winners from a lacklustre Christmas for Britain’s biggest supermarket chains. The festive season is usually a boom time for food retailers as Britons splash out on festive fare but “subdued” consumer confidence has knocked demand this year, with Tesco leading the field with a small decline in sales at its established UK stores. Its chief executive, Dave Lewis, said: “We recognise that the market is subdued but against that and a strong performance last year we managed to perform very well.” Like-for-like sales at the UK’s biggest supermarket chain fell 0.2% in the 19 weeks to 4 January 2020, while Sainsbury’s fell 0.7% and Morrisons was down 1.7% over similar periods. The big four supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, the Walmart owned-Asda and Morrisons – recorded the lowest sales growth over the Christmas trading period in at least four years, industry data has shown. |
| Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the British Airways and Iberia owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG), is to stand down from the post in March. He will be succeeded by Luis Gallego, the Iberia chief executive. IAG said Walsh, 58, would quit as CEO on 26 March and officially retire on 30 June. He announced in late October that he would step down within two years, after 15 years at BA. The parent group, IAG, also owns the Irish airline Aer Lingus and other budget carriers, including Spain’s Vueling. Walsh joined Aer Lingus in 1979 as a cadet pilot and became chief executive in 2001. At the then-government-controlled airline he was known as “Slasher” Walsh for cutting 2,500 jobs and turning the loss-making carrier around. |
| Willie Walsh to step down as chief of British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG). Irishman who led creation of group to be replaced by Iberia boss Luis Gallego |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) new pilot must restore the identity of BA. Combative Willie Walsh built a global group but Britain’s flag carrier now needs to regain its crown |
| International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) names ‘more modest’ chief to chart next course. Luis Gallego must integrate Spain’s Air Europa and reset relations with customers and staff |
| Tesco (TSCO) Christmas sales edge up in ‘subdued’ UK market. Grocer ekes out growth in key region driven by food sales |
| Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) fails to build on signs of recovery. Issues with food waste and menswear curtail growth |
| Willie Walsh is stepping down as chief executive of British Airways owner International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) after 15 years at the top. The 58-year-old Irishman, who started his long career in aviation as a trainee pilot at Aer Lingus, will relinquish control at the end of March and leave the company in June. Arch-rival and compatriot Michael O’Leary, the pugnacious boss of Ryanair, said it was a huge loss to the industry and proof that you’ll never beat the Irish. But there was silence from Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson who has had a long-running feud with Walsh. And many of BA’s passengers caught up in pilot strikes, IT meltdowns and a cyber attack may be happy to see the back of him. Walsh said last November that he would retire before his 60th birthday, but has decided to call it a day a little earlier than expected. He will be replaced by 51-year-old Spaniard Luis Gallego, who has been credited with turning around Iberia, another part of the IAG stable. |
| Shares in Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) fell sharply after it admitted that it failed to sell as many mince pies and skinny jeans as expected over Christmas. Sales in the 13 weeks to December 28 were 0.2% higher than in the same period 12 months earlier – the first rise in quarterly takings in three years. But a 1.7% fall in clothing and home sales took the shine off a 1.4% rise at the food arm. M&S also warned that large amounts of food waste put a squeeze on margins, hitting its profits. |
| Music investment fund Hipgnosis Songs Fund (SONG) has snapped up the rights to a back catalogue that includes number-one hits by Adele, Bruno Mars and Lana Del Rey. The firm said it had bought the royalty rights from Emile Haynie, an award-winning American producer. Haynie has collaborated with major hip hop and pop artists, with the back-catalogue sold to Hipgnosis comprising 122 songs. It is the latest deal struck by the company, which also bought separate rights to hundreds of songs from the Kaiser Chiefs and songwriter Fraser T Smith recently. | |
 | Shares in Card Factory (CARD) have slumped after the group revealed it suffered a ‘challenging’ period of trading over Christmas and lowered its full-year earnings outlook. Blaming dwindling High Street footfall, the General Election and weak shopper sentiment, Card Factory said Christmas trading had been ‘softer’ than expected and revealed it would not be dishing out a special dividend to its shareholders next year. |
 | Irish oil and gas group Providence Resources (PVR) has hired industry veteran Alan Linn as its chief executive. Linn, 62, has joined from UK shale group Third Energy and has previously had senior roles at Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil and Afren. AIM-listed Providence is developing the first commercial oil project off the coast of Ireland, but still needs to do more test drilling to secure new cash. Investors welcomed the move, with shares rising to 3.25p. |
     | The second profit warning in three months walloped shares in building materials supplier SIG (SHI) and wiped around £150million off the company’s value. The Sheffield-based roofing and insulation seller has been hit hard by a drop-off in new construction projects in Europe, particularly in the UK and Germany. It now expects profit for 2019 to come in at £42million – far short of the £68million analysts had forecast and some 40 per cent lower than what it raked in the year before. Peel Hunt analysts said trading had been ‘much worse’ than expected in December, when sales were a quarter lower than the month before. SIG’s misfortune was contagious, sparking fears among traders that its peers including B&Q-owner Kingfisher (KGF), Travis Perkins (TPK) and Grafton Group Units (GFTU) might be similarly under the cosh. Bucking the construction gloom, however, builder Galliford Try (GFRD) rose 7.42p, to 151.5p after it said it has more than £3billion in contracts lined up after it offloaded its housing division to Vistry Group in late 2019. |
 | Centamin (DI) (CEY) rose after it announced one of the best ever quarters for production at its Sukari gold mine in Egypt. It dug up 148,000 ounces of gold between October and December, up 51% on the previous quarter and 8% on the same period of last year. |
| Finablr PLC (FIN) – Travelex has been criticised for leaving customers in the dark over a hacking attack after the currency transfer business refused to say if it had paid a $6m (£4.6m) ransom. Experts said it is crucial for the currency exchange business to be open with customers as a battle to bring its computer systems back online continues. Hackers behind the ransomware attack on New Year’s Eve claimed to have stolen customer data including credit card information, and threatened to publish it online if they weren’t paid the money within seven days. The attack took down Travelex’s online systems and has also hit banks including HSBC, Barclays and Natwest owner Royal Bank of Scotland which used its services for their own clients. | |
| City heavyweights rowed in behind Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and former Chancellor George Osborne by calling on the UK to distance itself from Brussels after Brexit. The UK should “move as far away as we can” from EU rules without losing access to European markets, said Nigel Wilson, chief executive of FTSE 100 insurer Legal & General. Mr Carney said earlier this week there was no point in the UK aligning its financial rulebook entirely with the EU after Brexit in the hope of securing a better trade deal. | |
| The departing boss of Tesco (TSCO) claimed the grocer had its busiest day ever during the festive period – despite recording flat sales. Tesco has emerged as frontrunner in the battle of the major grocers to win Christmas, with a modest 0.1% increase in sales during the six weeks to Jan 4. Third quarter revenues rose 0.4% in the UK, hitting £16.8bn. Chief executive Dave Lewis said the retailer sold more groceries on the day before Christmas Eve than any other day in its 100-year history. Mr Lewis, who is leaving this summer after five years in charge, said: “I’ve never seen the UK business run as well as it has this Christmas.” Tesco’s performance was boosted by cash and carry arm Booker, which it bought for £4bn in 2018. |
| A glut of extra food in the run-up to Christmas hit profits at Marks & Spencer Group (MKS), as sales of men’s skinny shirts and trousers failed to take off. Clothing and home sales in stores open more than year fell by 1.7% over the crucial festive period, more than analysts had expected. This was because it had too many shirts and trousers in small and medium sizes in contemporary styles and not enough of its regular fit shirts. Food performed better with sales up 1.4%. However, the retailer admitted its stores had overstocked with products which were not sold, leading to a bumper amount of waste and a hit to profit margins. |
| Outgoing International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) boss Willie Walsh once said his best decision was hiring Luis Gallego to lead IAG’s Spanish airline Iberia. “He’s a fantastic leader and has made a tremendous difference – and his performance makes me look good!” he told the Belfast Telegraph in 2016. Walsh will have plenty of time to reflect on that decision now that the Spaniard Gallego is replacing him in the top job, taking the controls of the British Airways owner at a critical time. Gallego, 51, is credited with turning around an ailing Iberia, returning it to profitability in 2014 after facing down unions to cut thousands of jobs and salaries. Such skills will be useful as he tries to navigate IAG around fierce competition and high fuel prices – as well as the thorny question about how to balance growth with pressure to cut carbon emissions. |
 | Questor: we sold Jupiter European Opportunities Trust (JEO) last year. Now it is time to buy again. Questor investment trust bargain: the manager is even more motivated to succeed and we can hope for good returns from European stocks this year |
| Willie Walsh is to stand down as boss of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG). Mr Walsh was the architect of deals that united the carriers at International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG). They led to thousands of job losses but have delivered solid returns for investors, with shares in IAG up 123% since the company was created in 2011 when BA and Iberia came together. He will leave on March 26. Executives at rival airlines said last night that the expectation in the industry was that if IAG were to announce a management change it would be the exit of Álex Cruz, who as boss of British Airways has suffered a damaging strike by pilots and a downward trajectory in the popularity of the airline. Instead, the news that Mr Walsh has decided to retire as group chief completes an Iberian takeover of the key roles at IAG. He will be replaced by Luis Gallego, 51, who has been chief executive of Iberia for the past seven years and is little known in the UK. |
| Too many skinny jeans and too much food waste took the shine off Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) recording its first total like-for-like sales growth in three years. A recovery in the retailer’s food division lifted total like-for-like sales by 0.2 per cent as customers were lured in by its festive treats and a focus on attracting more family customers with cheaper prices. The grocery arm delivered a 1.4% rise in like-for-like sales but its perennially challenged clothing and home division suffered another slip, with like-for-like sales falling 1.7% and total sales declining by 3.7% to £1.06 billion. |
| Tesco (TSCO) has delivered its fifth consecutive rise in sales for the vital Christmas period despite a subdued wider market. The supermarket chain said that like-for-like sales rose 0.1% in the UK in the six weeks to January 4, supported by lower prices, better availability and a strong performance in fresh food. It said that it had enjoyed its biggest day of UK food sales in its 100-year history on December 23. The rise in like-for-like sales followed a 0.4% drop in the previous quarter, which covered the 13 weeks to November 23. This meant that in the 19 weeks to January 4, which includes the quarter and the Christmas period, like-for-like sales fell by 0.2%. Dave Lewis, 54, the outgoing boss of Tesco, said that before Christmas shoppers “were uncertain, unsure — and that does translate into people being a little bit more cautious about how they spend their money”. He said that the Conservatives’ victory in the general election, which removed some political uncertainty, had not noticeably boosted sentiment. “There was nothing discernible to see post-election that was anything out of the ordinary,” he said. |
| Card Factory (CARD) has sounded a profit alert and warned that it does not expect to pay a special dividend next year after enduring tough Christmas trading. The card retailer said trading over the festive season had been “challenging”. It told investors that adjusted underlying earnings before interest, taxes and other items was expected to fall to £81 million for the year to the end of January, down from £89.4 million in 2019. Adjusted profits will also take a hit of as much as £10 million next year from market headwinds, it added. Like-for-like sales during the 11-months to the end of December were down 0.6%, compared with a 0.1% decline a year earlier. Analysts at Peel Hunt, the stockbroker, described the trading update as “truly shocking” and said the figures showed that like-for-like sales had “collapsed in recent weeks”. |
 | Dunelm Group (DNLM) improved sales ahead of Christmas and forecast a one-fifth increase in first-half profits. An upgrade to the homeware retailer’s website meant that it could sell more online during the crucial period than last year. Nick Wilkinson, chief executive, said: “We are really pleased with our performance in the first half.” Like-for-like sales jumped 5.6% and growth including from new stores was 6% in the half year to December 28. The retailer boosted its gross margin through savings from sourcing and sticking to its “everyday great value” policy and avoiding discounting before Christmas. |
 | Dixons Carphone (DC.) has been fined £500,000 after failing to prevent cyberattackers from accessing the personal details of 14 million customers. The Information Commissioner’s Office said the electronics retailer had failed to implement “basic, commonplace security” procedures, showing “complete disregard” for customers. The data watchdog said hackers had installed malware on 5,390 tills at Currys PC World and Dixons Travel stores. They were able to access 5.6 million payment cards and collect sensitive personal information of about 14 million people, including their full names, postcodes, email addresses and failed credit checks. |
 | Strong demand for pub meals and drinks on key days including Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve drove like-for-like sales growth of 5.6% at Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) over the three-week festive period. The All Bar One and Miller & Carter operator said that it had achieved record growth of 6.5% across the five key days, which also included Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, selling 1.5 million meals and 6.4 million drinks. Phil Urban, 56, M&B’s chief executive, said that the performance over the festive trading season was particularly pleasing given the strong comparative trading in the previous year. Analysts praised the performance, with Nigel Parson, at Canaccord Genuity, headlining his research note “another Christmas cracker” and noting that M&B was “starting to make real progress in reducing its debt burden”. He said that over the next decade it could pay off £1.5 billion of its £2 billion debt. |
 | An end-of-year bout of Brexit uncertainty and disruptions caused by last month’s general election have hit profits at Robert Walters (RWA). The international recruitment firm told investors yesterday that the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and the trade stand-off between America and China had also hit the confidence of its customers. In a downbeat trading update that sent its shares more than 10% lower at one point, the recruiter said that its fee income in the UK slid by 23% to £20.7 million over the three months to the end of December against the same period the previous year. Although a 4% drop in fees from placing staff in Asia Pacific was in part offset by business in continental Europe, it left the group’s net fee income down 8% to £94.2 million. |
| SIG (SHI) yesterday said business vanished in December as a result of the general election and companies closing early for Christmas. SIG, a provider of roofing materials and building insulation, issued its second profit warning in three months, this time slashing estimates on its earnings for 2019 by more than a third. It follows a previous alert in October and SIG shares have now halved in price over the past two years, leaving its market value at just over £550 million. |
 | Roger White had to issue his first profit warning as chief executive of Barr (A.G.) (BAG), the Scottish drinks-maker, last summer. “I’m not having another one if there’s anything I can do about it,” he quipped. Well, according to Barclays, he may be forced to eat his words. Analysts at the investment bank have slashed their forecasts for AG Barr’s financial year, which runs until the end of this month. A plunge in profits was expected but Barclays thinks it will be worse than feared and is pencilling in a 26% drop to £34.1 million. It said it had no choice because of continued weak sales data for Irn-Bru, the company’s star brand. Sales of the drink fell in the first half of the year when a price rise dented volumes by more than expected. Management was confident that sales would pick up as the year wore on, but recent data from Nielsen, the market research group, has suggested that they remain poor, with volumes down “double-digits”. |
 | Ocado Group (OCDO) fell 57½p to close at £12.77. It was Waitrose, which supplies Ocado, that was doing the damage. The pair’s relationship is coming to an end in September, when Marks & Spencer will start supplying Ocado instead. In anticipation of that move, Waitrose has been trying to beef up its delivery business. It reported a jump in online sales over Christmas, suggesting that some Ocado shoppers may be jumping ship before the big switch. |
| Building suppliers were dumped as a shocker of an update from SIG (SHI), the insulation specialist, rattled the sector. SIG had warned on profits in October because of a slowdown in construction activity, but the deterioration “accelerated” last month, meaning that profits for 2019 will come in at about £42 million, £26 million short of what the market had been expecting. SIG fell to 94¼p, and the shockwaves were felt throughout the industry. Grafton Group Units (GFTU), owner of Selco builders’ merchants, was down 35p to 845p, while Kingfisher (KGF), B&Q’s parent company, gave up 6½p to 217½p. |
 | Consort Medical (CSRT) investors’ confidence that another bid for the medical device maker would be forthcoming looks to have been misplaced. A bid of £10.10 from its Swedish rival Recipharm was accepted by Consort bosses in November, although many in the City felt it was a low-ball offer. Both Panmure Gordon and Numis, the stockbrokers, described the bid as “opportunistic”, with the latter speculating that an offer of £12-plus would be closer to fair value. “Let the bidding commence,” proclaimed analysts at RBC, who also raised their price target to £12. The rhetoric galvanised Consort investors and sent the share price above the offer price, implying that the market also thought another suitor would come out of the woodwork. Six weeks on and a rival to Recipharm has yet to show its hand. “We believe that this is a cheap deal for Recipharm,” said Charles Weston, a healthcare analyst at RBC. “We believe that another purchaser would have made a bid before this time, and thus [expect] that the deal will now complete at £10.10 per share.” |
 | Tempus – Cineworld Group (CINE): Hold. As long as it can reduce debts it has a viable future and is very attractively valued |
 | Tempus – YouGov (YOU): Avoid. High quality, digitally-driven business but too costly |
| Travelex staff have had to write out paper invoices for customers as the foreign currency firm continues to be without computer systems after hackers took control, demanding a $3m ransom. Travelex was forced to take down its global websites on 1 January after criminals attacked on its computer system on New Year’s Eve using Sodinokibi ransomware. The cyber-attack has also shutdown the online currency exchange services offered by Virgin Money, Tesco Bank, First Direct and Sainsbury’s Bank, which are powered by Travelex. The hackers are threatening to release 5GB of customers’ personal data – including social security numbers, dates of birth and payment-card information – into the public domain unless the company pays up. As the crisis continued on Wednesday, shares in Travelex’s parent company Finablr PLC (FIN), a global payments company listed in London, plunged by 16% to a record low. This was despite an attempt by the United Arab Emirates-based company to allay fears of a major online leak of personal data. | |
  | Anglo American (AAL) could rescue plans to dig the UK’s first deep mine in 40 years under the North York Moors through a £386m takeover bid for Sirius Minerals (SXX). The businesses are in advanced talks over a bid that would save Sirius from collapse after the struggling fertiliser miner failed to raise funds for its Yorkshire mine project. Under the terms of Anglo’s takeover bid, it would offer 5.5p a share to Sirius shareholders to value the company at £386m, or one-third more than its market value at close on Tuesday. The company’s share price has plummeted in recent years as it struggled to fund plans to extract a potent fertiliser called polyhalite, or Poly4. Sirius was worth 37p a share in August 2018 but was trading at just over 4p a share before the approach emerged. On Wednesday shares in the business climbed by more than a third to match the offer price. |
 | Ted Baker (TED) bankers have appointed advisers to review the prospects for the business amid fears that the fashion chain will be forced to raise cash. A consortium of four major lenders to the company, understood to be Santander, HSBC, Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, have hired the advisory firm FTI Consulting, which has previously worked with lenders to troubled high street businesses Debenhams and New Look as well as the collapsed Thomas Cook. FTI is expected to take several weeks to conclude the business review that could result in Ted Baker’s lenders tightening the terms on which they provide debt to the retailer, according to Sky News, which first reported the appointment. The review raises fears for Ted Baker, which is thought to be close to reaching the ceiling on its borrowing agreements for £180m of debt after a difficult period of trading. In October, debts were £130m and since then trading has been poor. |
 | Employees at Greggs (GRG) are being rewarded with a £7m special bonus after the hugely successful launch of the bakery chain’s vegan sausage roll last year boosted sales and profits. The bakery chain’s 25,000 employees will receive up to £300 each in their pay packets this month – with shop floor staff and managers receiving the same amount. Greggs said it was making the one-off payment to workers “in recognition of their crucial contribution to business success”. Some 19,000 staff, who have been with the company before and up to March last year, will receive the full £300 payment. The rest will be given £75 for every quarter they have been with the company, up to the end of last year. |
| Barclays (BARC) Qatar deal sealed with simple six-paragraph letter. Former chief of bank was told investors would not accept longer agreement for £42m side deal |
| Lex – Finablr PLC (FIN)/Travelex: hostage to fortune. Financial services group has made a good start containing the damage from the cyber attack | |
 | Lombard – Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) helpful prices may yet hinder margin. Upswing in profitability is starting to look increasingly challenged — particularly at Argos |
| Lex – Sirius Minerals (SXX)/Anglo American (AAL): innings over. Big miner has the balance sheet to absorb the tiny miner’s uncertainties |
| Anglo American (AAL) bids for potash mine developer Sirius Minerals (SXX). Miner in advanced talks on £386m takeover of struggling group |
| Greggs (GRG) to award £7m bonus to staff after ‘exceptional’ year. Bakery group raises profit forecast but warns that costs would likely rise this year |
| Finablr PLC (FIN) – Travelex hackers demand ransom to protect data. Metropolitan Police and NCSC investigate cyber attack discovered on New Year’s Eve | |
| Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) upbeat festive food sales offset by Argos weakness. Growth in core grocery business let down by 4% fall in general merchandise |
| Barclays (BARC) pressed to stop financing some fossil fuel groups. Funds put financial industry at centre of climate debate with landmark resolution |
| Thousands of savers who backed the UK’s biggest mining project face huge losses after it became a takeover target. Around 85,000 people poured money into Sirius Minerals (SXX) ambitious plans to dig the fertiliser potash from under the North York Moors. Many investors were locals supporting a bid to create thousands of jobs and reinvigorate the region’s economy. But they are now braced for heavy losses after mining giant Anglo American (AAL) offered to buy Sirius for £386million. This works out at 5.5p per share for investors, just a fraction of the price many paid when they bought the stock. Sirius chief executive Chris Fraser has also invested heavily in the company. But he is still set to scoop a windfall of £6.8million from his shareholding. Furious shareholders yesterday branded the offer ‘daylight robbery’ and said it would put them off dabbling in the stock market for life. |
 | Shoe Zone (SHOE) saw pre-tax profits slump by 15% in the latest financial year. The company declared that revenues had barely budged upwards in the year to October 2019, rising by only £1.4million to £162million. The company saw a £2.9million writedown on the value of 17 freehold properties. Its new chief executive Anthony Smith called on the government to lower business rates to avoid more stores being closed. Pre-tax profits at the retailer fell to £9.8million from £11.4million the year earlier, as the firm said business rates were too high. The value footwear retailer told the PA news agency that ‘maybe 20% of stores could close if rates don’t change’, with the firm securing rent reductions in order to protect the future of some stores. |
 | Topps Tiles (TPT) has blamed falling sales on political and economic uncertainty prompting a dwindling of consumer confidence. In the three months to 28 December, the tile group’s like-for-like sales slipped by 5.4%, but started to recover after the general election. Topps Tiles saw its share price take a battering in November when it first revealed the extent of the pre-election impact on trade. Analysts at Liberum slashed their forecast for Topps Tiles’ annual pre-tax profits by 10% after the November update. |
 | Avacta Group (AVCT) is to collaborate with Korean pharmaceutical company Daewoong to develop stem cells that can treat auto-immune and inflammatory diseases. These therapies will use tiny proteins Avacta has been working on, which make medicines more effective when they are administered. Avacta will own 45% of the venture, which will be fully funded by Daewoong. |
 | NMC Health (NMC) and Travelex owner Finablr PLC (FIN) suffered a bruising day after major investors sold a bucketload of shares. Two Gulf billionaires, Saeed Mohamed al-Qebaisi and Khalifa Butti al-Muhairi, offloaded £375million of stock in NMC and £55million in Finablr at a big discount. In a statement after the market closed on Tuesday, they said they were doing it to pay down debt. It comes at a difficult time for Finablr, which is fighting a cyber-attack at Travelex that was discovered on New Year’s Eve and has left it resorting to fulfilling orders with pen and paper after it took all computers offline. Finablr yesterday tried to reassure the market by saying it did not think there would be a material hit and that it had contained the spread of the attack. The hackers, from a group known as Revil, are said to want £4.6million in exchange for not releasing personal data from customers. |
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