| Trainline Plc (TRN) expects to rake in higher full-year revenues after the popularity of mobile tickets led to a surge in sales. The rail fare-selling website, which will join the FTSE 250 index later this month, estimates revenue will grow by more than 20% this year. This was up from a previous forecast that growth would be in the high teens. The firm also said turnover climbed to £129million in the six months to August 31, up 29% on the same period of last year. Trainline said this was down to an increase in sales of virtual tickets that are sent to customers’ mobile phones rather than printed out. | |
 | British American Tobacco (BATS) is cutting 2,300 jobs as it focuses on vaping under chief executive Jack Bowles. Around a fifth of senior roles at the cigarette maker will face the axe in the shake-up. BAT, which has around 55,000 employees worldwide, said the restructuring will make it a more efficient and simplified company with fewer, but larger, divisions. Major tobacco firms have been ramping up investment in new products such as so-called e-cigarettes, as health concerns and changing habits have led to a rapid decline of smoking in the West. Bowles, who has been boss for five months, said he wants to rapidly boost expansion in these products. But the proposal was overshadowed by President Trump announcing that his administration plans to toughen its stance on e-cigarettes after several deaths. |
 | Neil Woodford’s troubled investment trust has suffered another multi-million pound blow after being forced to cut the estimated value of one its investments. The board of Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) said the write-down will wipe out £36million from its value – equal to 4p per share. In an update to the stock exchange released after markets closed last night, it did not reveal any details about which investment has been knocked down. The revaluation was carried out by Link Fund Solutions, the business which oversees Woodford’s funds and is in charge of putting a price tag on their portfolio companies. |
 | Watchdogs in the US will wade in to block the Hong Kong stock exchange’s £32billion bid for the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), experts believe. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing faces an uphill struggle to seize control of the LSE, former boss Xavier Rolet said, warning that American officials are likely to be concerned about the influence it would give China’s Communist regime over Western finance. The growing doubts over the deal came amid rumours that the Hong Kong firm is planning to sweeten its offer, by stumping up more cash for LSE shareholders. Its previous preliminary offer consisted of £7.2billion in cash and a 41% stake in the combined business. But after the approach received a lukewarm reception on Wednesday, reports suggested the Hong Kong suitor was open to considering a meatier proposal. |
 | Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) has signed up to a new multi-year agreement with online giant Amazon as the supermarket attempts to keep pushing further into the wholesale market. Chief executive David Potts revealed the deal, which will enable more shoppers to order Morrisons products for same day delivery on Amazon – expanding on a previous trial. Shares in Morrisons opened up 7.3p at 201.3p and ‘will be exploring new opportunities to innovate and improve the shopping experience for both Morrisons and Amazon customers’. Less was said about the supermarket’s relationship with Ocado, which currently fulfils online grocery deliveries for Morrisons, although Mr Potts said the partnership remains in place. He added: ‘That’s not ending any time soon and we’ve got an important relationship with Ocado.’ |
 | Botswana Diamonds (BOD) sparkled after a company in which it is invested edged closer to getting a mining permit in South Africa. Vutomi, in which Botswana Diamonds has a 40% stake, has been given environmental authorisation over an area of gravel next to a mine believed to contain sellable diamonds. Botswana Diamonds said it is a critical step towards getting permission to mine. |
  | Babcock International Group (BAB) has fought off major rival BAE Systems (BA.) in the race to build Britain’s newest generation of warships. A consortium led by contractor Babcock has been anointed by the Ministry of Defence as preferred bidder to put together five Type 31 frigates – nicknamed the ‘Lidl ship’ after the German budget grocer because they are smaller and cheaper than existing models. Work on the project will secure some 2,500 jobs and is slated to begin later this year, with the first ships set to be delivered in 2023. The coveted contract, worth £1.25billion, has particular weight for Babcock, which has had a somewhat choppy 12 months in which it was forced to fend off two verbal attacks from a mystery research outfit called The Boatman Capital and turn down two approaches from Serco. |
 | BP (BP.) lost ground after boss Bob Dudley told a JP Morgan conference that the company plans to cut some of its oil projects and reduce investments in others, in an attempt to reach its climate goals. |
 | Mediterranean-focused oil and gas group Energean Oil and Gas (ENOG) fell 45p, to 951p after it swung to a loss and cut its guidance for how much oil it will produce in Greece following a temporary shutdown in July. |
 | Hurricane Energy (HUR) jumped 2.34p, to 47.64p, after it reported ‘excellent’ results from a well off the coast of the Shetland Islands. |
  | JP Morgan sent Premier Inn-owner Whitbread (WTB) and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) lower after it got jittery about the outlook for the European hotel industry. It slapped an ‘underweight’ rating on both stocks, sending Whitbread down 115p, to 4429p and IHG down 130p, to 5037p. |
 | Struggling inkjet printer firm Xaar (XAR) surged 12.3p, to 71.4p after it agreed to sell 20 per cent of its holding in its 3D printing business to a joint venture partner, US group Stratasys, for £8million. Stratasys also has the option to buy the rest of the 55% it doesn’t own. |
| One of the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) largest shareholders believes it is “now or never” for other suitors to make a rival offer to the shock £30bn bid from the Hong Kong bourse. The top ten shareholder said they would not be rushed into a decision over the surprise offer from Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), because they want to see whether it could spark a bidding war. The investor said exchanges such as America’s Intercontinental Exchange would probably “feel pressure” to come up with a counter-offer or risk missing out on one of the world’s most prized financial companies. Other City sources speculated that Hong Kong’s cash-and shares bid of £83.61, made on Wednesday at a near-23% premium on Tuesday’s closing price, was an “opening gambit”. “If they go 10% higher, then it will be a case of what might happen in the short term to the LSE share price versus a five-year view on where the share price can go on a successful Refinitiv integration,” a source said. |
| Trainline Plc (TRN) has increased its full-year revenue expectations after total ticket sales in the first half jumped 19% year on year to £1.8bn. The ticket-selling platform, which completed a £1.7bn stock market float in June, said it now expected revenue to rise more than a fifth, driven by a strong UK performance and more consumers buying via mobile. It also revealed a 52% rise to £259m for international ticket sales while total revenues jumped 29% to £129m over the period. However, the travel ticketing app admitted that UK sales growth would be lower in the second half. Clare Gilmartin, Trainline chief executive, said she was “pleased with the strong levels of growth”. | |
| British American Tobacco (BATS) is to cut more than 2,000 jobs as part of a sweeping restructuring designed to address a decline in smoking and a shift towards vaping. The tobacco giant will shed layers of management, reorganise its business units and simplify its structure to create a “more efficient, agile and focused” company. Around a fifth of its senior management workforce, some 2,300 jobs, will be culled. The Dunhill and Lucky Strike maker declined to comment on the geographical location of the cuts. The overhaul will be seen as chief executive Jack Bowles trying to stamp his mark on one of London’s biggest listed companies. Mr Bowles replaced long-term chief executive Nicandro Durante in April after shares halved last year. |
| Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) is taking full advantage of its tie-up with Amazon to expand its swift grocery delivery service across the country. The grocer revealed plans to extend its presence to Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth this year. “Morrisons at Amazon” is already live in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and parts of London; the service allows shoppers to buy Morrison’s own products on Amazon’s website. The move comes after Morrisons revealed in May it would no longer have an exclusive online partnership with Ocado, which it sealed in 2013. Ocado still provides the delivery service that underpins Morrisons.com, but the two companies negotiated a looser partnership earlier this year after the former suffered a devastating fire at one of its warehouses, reducing its capacity to serve its other customers. |
| BP (BP.) plans to axe some of its oil projects and reduce investment in others in a bid to be more environmentally friendly, its chief executive has said. Bob Dudley said one way to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions was to sell some of its most carbon-intensive projects, although he would not say which assets BP was targeting. Earlier this year shareholders voted to force BP to explain how it is aligning its operations with the Paris climate change agreement of 2015 by issuing a report on the matter before its annual general meeting in May next year. This puts senior managers under pressure to come up with solutions. |
 | Questor: why Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) decision to axe its share buyback is good news for investors. Questor Income Portfolio: in response to bad news about PPI the bank was able to curtail its share repurchases rather than disappoint income investors. Hold |
| London Stock Exchange Group (LSE), the target of a £32 billion bid from its Hong Kong rival, is considering moving its headquarters out of the Square Mile for the first time in its history. The business, which emerged from 17th-century coffee houses in the City of London, has appointed Make Architects to design an office on land it owns in Hackney, east London. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, which revealed its cash-and-shares tilt at its London rival on Wednesday, is understood to have contacted No 10 in attempt to head off a political storm over its proposal. |
| Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) is to extend its online partnership with Amazon as it reported disappointing sales compared with those in last year’s hot summer. Like-for-like sales fell 1.9% in the second quarter, against a 6.3% rise a year ago when they were boosted by the World Cup and royal wedding. The figure was better than expected, however, as was a 5.3% rise in pre-tax profits to £198 million in the half year to August 4. Ocado operates Morrisons.com after a deal between the two companies while Morrisons products are also sold on Amazon, the US online giant, through a wholesale arrangement. Morrisons has now signed a multi-year agreement with Amazon, rather than its current rolling contract, and will expand its same-day delivery service to Glasgow, Newcastle, Liverpool, Sheffield and Portsmouth. The service is already available in Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, parts of London and the home counties. |
| The chairman of Trainline Plc (TRN) is resigning less than three months after the ticketing app’s £2 billion flotation triggered multimillion-pound paydays for senior staff. Douglas McCallum, 53, will leave in November, with Brian McBride, the senior independent director, taking his place. Trainline’s listing in June valued the company at more than First Group and Stagecoach, two of Britain’s big rail operators, combined. Mr McCallum, who has been chairman since 2013, sold shares worth £6.5 million at the float and retains a £12.3 million holding. Clare Gilmartin, 44, chief executive, made £15.8 million through stock sales. | |
 | About 10% of emergency back-up power supplies that were supposed to help avert blackouts last month failed to deliver electricity as expected, National Grid (NG.) has admitted. The group, whose job is to keep the lights on, said it was still looking into the “under-performance” by some of the companies that were supposed to provide a rapid response on August 9. National Grid had not procured enough back-up power supplies to compensate for the losses, resulting in a sharp drop in the frequency on the grid. Electricity had to be cut to a million homes to restore balance. |
| Investors backing Neil Woodford suffered a fresh setback last night when the investment trust he runs said it was writing down one of his unquoted investments by £36 million. Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) declined to identify the unlisted company that had disappointed because of “confidentiality obligations”, but said the writedown would wipe 4p from its net assets per share, which were previously 72.85p. The move is expected to hit the Patient Capital share price when trading begins today. The shares closed yesterday, before the announcement, at 45.25p. |
| About 2,300 jobs at British American Tobacco (BATS) will be cut as its new chief executive focuses on its vaping business. The FTSE 100 company said the restructuring, which would be substantially complete by January, was focused on removing management layers and simplifying the business. The job losses represent about 4% of the workforce and more than 20% of its senior roles are likely to be affected. The company said the changes were designed to deliver savings that can be reinvested in new products, such as vapour, tobacco heating products and oral tobacco. |
 | The online fashion retailer behind Jacamo and Simply Be has become the latest company to warn investors about a jump in potential payment protection insurance liabilities. Shares of Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) Group fell by 2½p to 108p after it estimated it would have to make an additional PPI provision of between £20 million and £30 million in its results for the half-year to the end of August. The group has so far paid out £108 million to settle claims, a figure that includes an additional provision of £22.6 million booked in the second half of last year to cover claims up to the August 29 deadline. |
 | Hurricane Energy (HUR) has earmarked the Lincoln Crestal well as a future producer after successful flow tests. Investors had cheered an update this week when the Aim favourite revealed it had struck oil at the site, the second in a three-well programme in the Greater Warwick Area, which bosses believe could hold up to 1.5 billion barrels of oil. After a couple of days of testing, Lincoln Crestal flowed at an average rate of 4,682 barrels of oil per day, peaking at almost 10,000. The well will be capped off until the new year, when it will be tied back to the Aoka Mizu floating production, storage and offloading vessel. “We are delighted with the results of the Lincoln Crestal well,” Robert Trice, chief executive, said. “We have confirmed the presence of light oil, which can be produced at commercial rates.” Light crude oil, which is less “sticky” than heavy crude, fetches a higher price on the markets because it produces more gasoline and more diesel per barrel when refined. Analysts at Berenberg described the results as “excellent”. Centrica (CNA) investors also had Hurricane to thank as the British Gas owner found itself climbing 2p to 74¾p. Its Spirit Energy subsidiary, which it is trying to sell, owns a 50 per cent stake in the Greater Warwick Area following its farm-in agreement this time last year. |
| Whitbread (WTB), owner of Premier Inn, and Intercontinental Hotels, which owns Holiday Inn, were among those holding the Footsie back after analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove put out a bearish research note. After hitting record highs at the end of July, the number crunchers said InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) now looked “unattractive” as they cut their rating to “underweight”. Shares in the company, which also owns the Crowne Plaza brand, fell back 130p to £50.37, although JPM Cazenove thinks their true value is closer to £47. Whitbread was hit with the same “underweight” rating, with the analysts wary of its exposure to “the current economic and political UK turmoil”. Shares dropped 115p to £44.29, still some way above the bank’s £38 target. |
| Botswana Diamonds (BOD) sparkled after environmental authorisation was granted for it to mine diamond-bearing gravels at an old De Beers project called Marsfontein. Bosses said this was a “critical step” towards obtaining a mining permit. |
 | Shareholders in Sirius Minerals (SXX) are petitioning the government to rescue the company’s $5 billion North Yorkshire fertiliser project as it scrambles to secure funding. The group has weeks to complete a crucial $500 million bond offering or risk going bust. A petition signed by more than 550 people is calling for the government to support the project with loan guarantees. The Times reported on Saturday that Sirius was hoping to secure cornerstone investors for the bond sale as well as suggestions it might seek government support through a loan guarantee. Sirius Minerals and the Treasury declined to comment. |
 | Tempus – Compass Group (CPG): Buy on weaknes. Dominant US operations are booming, Europe is resilient and the rest of the world has plenty of potential |
 | Tempus – Draper Esprit (GROW): Buy. High growth, sophisticated tech investor unfairly unloved by market |
| Serious doubts about Hong Kong’s £32 billion offer for the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) grew on Thursday just one day after the daring bid emerged. Investors say the deal could fail over price, regulatory and political concerns even in the unlikely event that the LSE’s management backed the offer. The first opportunity investors in Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) had to react to the deal saw the shares fall more than 3%, taking $1 billion off the value of the company. With growing talk in the City that HKEX is in effect controlled by the Chinese, the LSE is widely expected to formally reject the deal. |
| The boss of Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) today struck a bullish tone as the food industry digested the government’s chaotic Operation Yellowhammer warnings. The government was last night forced to release its no-deal Brexit planning documents, which predict supplies of fresh food will decrease, a reduction in choice of products, disruption of fuel distribution and huge delays to Dover-Calais crossings. Morrisons chief executive David Potts said: “We have prepared for all eventualities. It’s important we can keep the goods flowing to provide the goods shoppers have got used to receiving.” |
 | Metro Bank (MTRO) shares took a tumble today as hedge funds and Goldman Sachs ganged up on the challenger bank. Regent Street-based Ena Investment Capital increased its short position by 11% to 3.4 million shares, or 2% of the company’s stock. Ena follows Marshall Wace, Odey Asset Management and Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management, who have also made moves over the past week, stats from the ShortTracker website show. Goldman Sachs also stuck the boot in, downgrading the stock. The bets come as Metro is set to crash out of the FTSE 250 this month and in the wake of Vernon Hill stepping down as chairman. It tops what has been a torrid year for Metro after the group admitted in January that many commercial loans had been incorrectly classified in an accounting error. It was then forced to ask investors for £375 million to bolster its balance sheet. |
| Brown (N.) Group (BWNG) showed that PPI doesn’t just affect the big banks. The retailer provides credit to its customers and had been selling PPI. This session it said it would take another £30 million hit from the scandal, sending its shares lower. John Stevenson at Peel Hunt said: “In keeping with the wider financial services sector, N Brown has seen a surge in claims volumes ahead of the deadline, with volumes up tenfold.” |
| British American Tobacco (BATS) new boss on Thursday outlined plans to cut 2300 jobs as the firm tries to adapt to customers ditching traditional cigarettes for vaping. The owner of brands such as Benson & Hedges and Lucky Strike said the lay-offs are expected to complete by January 2020. BAT, which employs some 55,000 people, of which just under 2500 are in the UK, gave no breakdown of where the cuts will happen. However, it said there will be a “focus on simplification and removal of management layers”. It is expected over 20% of senior roles will be affected. |
| HKEX chief faces battle to win over sceptics on London Stock Exchange Group (LSE). Li kicks off charm offensive after stunning investors with£32bn move |
| Lombard – Hiring auditor is no job for Leadsom. Each day the retailer lacks scrutiny of its accounts reinforces case for new system | |
| in race against time to find new auditor. Mike Ashley’s group has a week to find alternative to Grant Thornton or ask government to appoint one | |
| Lex – London Stock Exchange Group (LSE)/HKEX: bid rings wrong bells. Unrest means Hong Kong bourse looks more like a refugee than a gatekeeper to Asia |
| Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital (SFOR) expects to double in size by 2021. Jump in billings at digital marketing venture as former WPP chief hails work for big-name clients |
| Investors in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) hope a bidding war will erupt after its Hong Kong rival launched a £32 billion takeover bid. In a shock announcement, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said it wanted to buy the 448-year-old British institution and create a ‘global market infrastructure leader’. But it is thought that the LSE will reject the offer and instead press ahead with its own £22 billion takeover of data firm Refinitiv, which is best known among City professionals for its trading terminal screens. The surprise offer from Hong Kong has set the City alight with the possibility of other bidders moving in. Analysts speculated that the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, and Chicago-based CME Group could be in the picture. HKEX is just the latest foreign predator to try to take control of the LSE, known as one of the three pillars of the City along with the Bank of England and Lloyd’s of London. |
 | Serco Group (SRP) has been given a two-year extension to a contract with the Australian government to monitor and run its detention centres. The British firm will have completed 12 years as a contractor for the government when the deal ends in 2021. The deal covers the Christmas Island detention centre which has been fiercely criticised by campaigners over harsh treatment of asylum seekers, which has led to riots. Serco has also had success with new contracts in the UK, winning a £1.9bn deal to manage 5,000 properties occupied by asylum seekers waiting to hear if their refugee status has been approved. |
 | The widow leading the campaign against the proposed takeover of Cobham (COB) is refusing to meet the US private equity firm behind the £4 billion bid. Lady Cobham, who was married to former boss Sir Michael Cobham, the son of founder Sir Alan Cobham, warned that Advent International ‘will never be a long-term strategic owner’ of the defence group. And the 76-year-old said meeting Advent bosses ‘is highly unlikely to change my view’. She has spurned an offer to talk, telling the Mail: ‘Advent will be looking to profit by selling the business on, either as a whole or in parts, which is why the UK Government needs to urgently review this transaction.’ |
| Mike Ashley could be forced to ask the Government to find an auditor for his retail empire, in the latest setback for the billionaire. The retailer has been left without an auditor after Grant Thornton quit the post at its annual shareholder meeting yesterday. Under company law, if Ashley cannot find someone to sign off the Sports Direct books, it must tell Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, who could then oversee an appointment. In a further blow, a third of independent shareholders voted against Ashley’s re-election as chief executive. Ashley, 55, survived the rebellion as he is Sports Direct’s largest shareholder with a near-63% stake. But he conceded that the past few months ‘can’t have been very comfortable’ for shareholders. | |
 | Gulf Marine Services (GMS) delayed publishing its half-year results while it continues talks with one of its lenders about a short-term loan – but pledged to release the figures by the end of September. The oilfield services contractor has a staggering debt pile – more than £300m at the end of 2018 – for a small-cap firm and is planning a longer-term restructuring of its finances. The Abu Dhabi-based firm operates support vessels that service deepwater oil and gas rigs and offshore wind farms. It was stung when it made investments to build a range of new boats before the oil price crash of 2014 and 2015, which then put customers off using expensive services such as those offered by Gulf Marine. In December it released a profit warning that hammered its share price and so far this year it suffered a bruising investor revolt against its 2018 executive pay in May, following which chief executive Duncan Anderson left last month. |
 | Capital & Regional (CAL) soared after South African real estate firm Growthpoint Properties kicked off talks to buy a majority stake in the British shopping centre owner. Growthpoint has made its approach at a time when Britain’s malls have been hammered by struggles in the retail sector, which have led to mass shop closures and falling rents. |
 | Galliford Try (GFRD) stock was seemingly immune to the news that the costs of a bypass in Aberdeen have taken a hefty chunk out of its profits. The construction giant’s profit dropped to £105m for the 12 months to the end of June, compared with £144m the year before – and revenues fell from £2.9 billion to £2.7 billion. But the news on Tuesday that it is planning to merge its housebuilding arm with Bovis’s equivalent division was still working its charm on Galliford’s shares. |
| The Hong Kong stock exchange is facing an uphill battle to win backing for its London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) bid after investors failed to show support for the near-£30bn offer. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing’s (HKEX) shock announcement on Wednesday morning pushed shares in LSE up 9% initially before closing 5.9% higher at £72.06. That is some distance from the cash-and shares offer of £83.61, which marked a near-23% premium on Tuesday’s closing price, suggesting scepticism about the prospect of the deal going ahead. The potential tie-up, which is understood to have caught LSE bosses “off-guard”, could also pose a political headache for the Government as it struggles to quash concerns about the influence of China on British business following the Huawei row earlier this year. Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom’s comments that the Government would “look very carefully at anything that had security implications for the UK” were later echoed by the Treasury. |
| tycoon Mike Ashley faced a backlash from investors at its annual meeting over his role at the helm of the company amid fresh uncertainty about the retailer’s auditor. Almost a quarter of investors voted against Mr Ashley as chief executive after the billionaire’s own 62% stake in the business is stripped out. He was nevertheless re-elected to the board. Three influential City corporate governance bodies – Pirc, ISS and Glass Lewis – had called on Sports Direct’s shareholders to vote against the re-appointment of the tycoon. About 9% of investors followed suit, similarly to last year’s vote, to replace Mr Ashley. “Before anybody thinks anything, my wealth is in that strategy,” Mr Ashley said. “Not a fraction of it – 60% of that share price is one individual who, by the way, doesn’t get a dividend and doesn’t get paid and he’s bet the farm on this and he’s not going to back down until he wins.” | |
 | ITV (ITV) had a shaky day on the markets, holding moderate gains after a note by Berenberg analysts led by Sarah Simon said they were taking an “increasingly bearish” view of the broadcaster as the streaming market grows increasingly competitive. The company and the BBC are still preparing to launch their much-hyped collaboration, Britbox. The service will be born into an increasingly hostile world. On Tuesday night, Apple unveiled its own streaming service, priced to undercut rivals such as Netflix. That sent a chill through the share prices of other media companies. “Against this backdrop, Britbox’s proposed £5.99 a month price point looks uncompelling, particularly given the massive gap in terms of programming expenditure,” the analysts wrote. They added: “Against the backdrop of these well-funded services with aggressive pricing, we do not see a strong rationale for take-up of Britbox. The budget for original programming will inevitably be small (£100m) against multibillions for the US-backed services.” The analysts said the risks for ITV are “rising”, saying: “we believe Britbox faces a major challenge, akin to that which ITV Digital faced nearly 20 years ago: a David-versus-Goliath situation, in which Goliath (Sky) won the fight.” They speculated that failure in such a situation would likely result in Britbox being shelved, but kept a “hold” rating on its shares. There is the chance of a bigger shake-up, however. Markets.com’s Neil Wilson, suggested ITV could well end up being the target of takeover activity if a foreign buyer wants to take advantage of a weak pound. “We think there could now be a rush for other UK-listed companies in the coming weeks – old favourites like ITV and Imperial Brands are among those to watch but there are plenty more besides.” |
| The marketing venture set up by Sir Martin Sorrell a month after his departure from WPP is on course to double in size by 2021, as clients continue to direct spending towards technology companies. S4 Capital (SFOR), formed in May 2018, said based on estimates for if it had been fully operational the prior year, revenues would have been up 42% at £88m year on year in the first six months of 2019. Its gross profit would have been up 40%, although a substantial increase in its staff numbers, and the subsequent rise in costs, meant it slipped to an operating loss of £6.2m. The prior year, it would have posted an operating profit of £12.2m. Sir Martin said it was an “investment in headcount in anticipation of a very strong growth rate”. It said the results put it “in line with its target of doubling the size of the company organically by 2021”. Sir Martin said the plan was to continue growing the company organically, through bulking up its client base and through acquisitions. | |
 | Former Stobart chair Iain Ferguson has been appointed as non-executive chairman of housebuilding company Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST), completing an overhaul of the housebuilder’s top two jobs. His appointment comes as Peter Truscott, poached from rival Galliford Try, starts as Crest Nicholson chief executive this month. Mr Ferguson will lead the Crest Nicholson board from November. The appointment comes after he survived a bruising board battle at Stobart last year, when he fended off an attempt to unseat him by the company’s former boss Andrew Tinkler, who had sought to replace him with billionaire retail tycoon Philip Day. |
| Galliford Try (GFRD) once again blamed its delayed Aberdeen road project for a fall in profits a day after it revealed it was trying to resurrect a housebuilding tie-up with rival Bovis. Profits fell to £104.7m from £143.7m for the year to the end of June, while revenues edged down from £2.9bn to £2.7bn. The FTSE 250 construction firm had to foot another £26m bill to complete the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, which has now been finalised, as well as other one-off charges worth £24m. Stripping these out, pre-tax profit was in line with expectations at £155.5m, down from £188.7m last year. |
| Its housebuilding arm, which will be merged with that of Bovis in a £1bn deal if all goes to plan, built 6,057 new homes, a slight fall on the year before. |
| An audacious £32 billion approach for London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) from its Hong Kong rival was greeted with mounting scepticism amid expectations that it would be blocked by American, EU or British regulators even if a deal could be agreed by the group. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing announced that it was planning a cash-and-shares offer of £83.61 on condition that London Stock Exchange scraps its $27 billion deal to buy Refinitiv, the financial data business. An initial spike in LSE Group shares to above £79 was partly reversed amid expectations that regulators would not tolerate such a strategically important part of western capitalism’s infrastructure being in the hands of a company partly controlled by the Hong Kong government and subject to possible interference from Beijing. |
| Sir Martin Sorrell said yesterday that he was on track to double the size of his digital advertising agency after winning contracts from several heavyweight clients. He said that S4 Capital (SFOR) remained a “blip” but increasingly was pitching for work from some of the world’s largest companies. It has signed deals with Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Coca-Cola and Sprint, the American telecoms group. By 2021, he said, revenues would be twice as large as they were when he set up S4 Capital last year. “We want to double the size of the business in three years, organically, and we’re well on the way to doing that,” Sir Martin, 74, said. | |
| Mike Ashley clashed with the City again yesterday after about a third of independent investors voted against his re-election at the company’s annual meeting. The tycoon still controls just under 63% of the retailer, making it practically impossible for investors to oust him. Nevertheless, just over 9% of Sports Direct shareholders who voted at the AGM rebelled against his re-election. An analysis by Pirc, the investor advisory service, revealed that of the 420 million votes cast in Mr Ashley’s favour, 330 million of them were the retail boss voting for himself. | |
| Galliford Try (GFRD) has reported a £61.5 million annual loss for its construction business only a day after revealing plans to focus on the division by selling off its profitable housebuilding unit to Bovis Homes. Losses for the construction business are more than double last year’s £29.1 million because of £46.4 million of exceptional costs relating to contract writedowns and internal restructuring. Galliford has begun to reduce the size of its construction business to focus on more profitable areas, including regional building, highways, defence, education, health and water infrastructure projects. Graham Prothero, 57, chief executive, said: “We are much happier with a slightly smaller but profitable business than a larger business that drops the ball from time to time.” |
| One of South Africa’s biggest listed property companies is in talks to buy a majority stake in a British shopping centre owner. Growthpoint Properties is proposing to buy a stake in Capital & Regional (CAL) through a part-cash offer and a subscription for new C&R shares. It has not yet disclosed detailed terms of any potential offer. Opportunistic overseas investors have been circling UK-listed retail landlords, whose shares have slumped as investors steer away from the sector. |
| The former chairman of Stobart, who survived a boardroom battle to oust him last year, has been appointed as non-executive chairman of Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST). Iain Ferguson, 63, will take up the role at the housebuilder from November, replacing Stephen Stone, 65, the former chief executive who has been non-executive chairman since April. He has overseen a shift in strategy at the company and the appointment of a new management team. Mr Ferguson left Stobart in July after surviving a campaign by Andrew Tinkler, a former chief executive, to unseat him and replace him with Philip Day, the retail tycoon. Relations between the two businessmen soured over the handling of an opportunistic bid by Stobart for Flybe, the regional airline. |
 | The Competition and Markets Authority has begun an investigation into a £1.4 billion deal that would create Britain’s biggest student housing landlord. Unite Group (UTG) confirmed yesterday that the competition watchdog would formally examine its proposed acquisition of Liberty Living, one of its biggest rivals, from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. If the cash-and-shares deal goes ahead, it will create a portfolio worth £5.2 billion, with 73,000 beds in 27 British towns and cities. The Canadian pension company would retain a 20% shareholding. Unite said that it expected to receive clearance from the watchdog in the final quarter of the year and was still confident of delivering the previously guided cost savings of £4 million next year and £15 million from 2021. |
 | Chemring Group (CHG) reiterated its full-year forecasts for the year to October 31 in a trading update yesterday and said that its order book at the end of August was £480 million, “providing good visibility for the remainder of the financial year and beyond”. The Hampshire-based defence company also announced four contracts to supply the US navy and air force with countermeasures, such as flares and decoys, worth up to $127 million, which it said showed its recovery in the market. |
   | Investors poured back into some unloved stocks yesterday, their appetite for risk appearing to return amid signs that the wider economic picture may be brightening. “The belief is that if you are going to be in equities in a turbulent period, you invest in the ‘best of the best’,” David Madden, a CMC Markets analyst, said. “But as sentiment improves, you start to take on a bit more risk.” Although it was only a small gesture, China’s move to waive import tariffs on 16 American products was welcomed by the markets. Adding to the optimism were expectations of some sort of stimulus package from the European Central Bank at today’s policy meeting. The risk of a no-deal Brexit also appeared to be receding, with UBS now reckoning that an extension to the deadline is the most likely scenario. All that put risk back on the menu, at least for the time being. Spectris (SXS) and Renishaw (RSW), the engineers that suffered tough summers, found their way back into traders’ portfolios. Renishaw rose 294p to £39.42, while Spectris added 159p to £24.75. Ted Baker (TED), still reeling from the departure of its founder, was back in fashion, climbing 64p to £10.70, while Aston Martin Holdings (AML) got back in gear after its recent profit warning, rising 32½p to 590¾p. |
| Gulf Marine Services (GMS) fell by almost a fifth, or 1½p, to just under 6p after it was forced to delay first-half results while talks continue with its lender over access to an “essential” debt facility. |
 | Tower Resources (TRP) sank by 24.1% to ½p after the oil exploration minnow warned investors that it would need to come back to market for more money to pay off a $750,000 bridging loan at the end of the month. |
 | Fevertree Drinks (FEVR) fizzed higher, adding 30p to £23.42. That was after analysts at JP Morgan Cazenove speculated that the share price could head back up towards the £40 mark. |
 | Advanced Medical Solutions Group (AMS) was one of the few stocks in the red as a slump in sales of its Liquiband wound closure glue in the United States put a £2 million dent in half-year profit. The company had already warned investors that Liquiband sales would fall in the US after many of its American customers stockpiled it before the original Brexit deadline in March. A 27% drop in Liquiband sales in the opening six months of the year was worse than the market had feared. Bosses said that their full-year outlook remained unchanged, but analysts trimmed their forecasts, with Numis saying that the sharp decline in Liquiband sales “raises several concerns” as it cut its rating to hold. |
| Tempus – Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY): Avoid. Brexit erases the attractions of this otherwise very strong lender and the prospects of a recovery in the price seem dim |
 | IP Group (IPO) blames Woodford woes for poor performance. Listed investment company says sentiment hit by difficulties at manager’s flagship fund |
| Lombard – Cash-in-hand persuades builders to do a £1bn deal. makes revised offer to rival that helps solve its balance sheet problems | |
 | Lex – Cairn Energy (CNE)/climate change: tilting to windmills. Investor ennui means oil companies may need to tap private capital instead |
| Cobham (COB) shareholder to vote against £4bn takeover. Sanderson Asset Management shows hand a week before investors vote on Advent offer |
 | JD Sports Fashion (JD.) calls for ‘fairness’ in lease arrangements. Comments come as weaker retailers use insolvency laws to secure lower rents |
| National Grid (NG.) urges back-up power review after blackout. FTSE 100 company faced criticism over widespread power cut this summer |
| Cairn Energy (CNE) raises output guidance after improvements at ‘Kraken’ field. Independent energy group had been hit by extraction issues at North Sea oilfield |
| and Galliford Try (GFRD) in talks over £1.1bn merger. Housebuilders restart discussions after they broke down earlier in the year |
 | A new riposte to the Burford Capital (BUR) short thesis. Caro-Kann Capital weighs in on the ligation finance company |
| Burford Capital (BUR) faces threat of ‘revenge porn’ prosecution. Woman who appears in video with billionaire has hired lawyers for potential private prosecution |
| BAE Systems (BA.) chief stands by Saudi Arabia deals. Woodburn defends doing business with regime as protests are expected at trade event |
| The battle for Cobham (COB) heated up last night after one of the defence firm’s major investors hit out at its planned takeover by a US private equity group. Sanderson Asset Management said it was ‘inclined to vote against’ Advent International’s £4billion offer at a crucial shareholder meeting to be held on Monday. ‘We have privately communicated our position to the board along with our desire to see the management team continue their good work in the event a better offer does not materialise,’ said Sanderson senior portfolio manager Christian Paaskesen. |
 | Equipment rental firm Ashtead Group (AHT) has notched up higher first-quarter profits as another bumper US performance offset tougher UK trading. The group reported a 9% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to £319million for the three months to July 31, with group revenues jumping 22% to £1billion. Statutory pre-tax profits were 8% higher at £304.7million. Its Sunbelt business in the US and Canada drove the performance, thanks to higher rental demand for industrial gear and recent acquisitions in Canada. But its UK arm – called A-Plant – suffered a 31% plunge in operating profits to £15.4million as it said the market remained competitive. |
| JD Sports Fashion (JD.) reminded its rivals that it’s still the ‘Undisputed King of Trainers’ today as it raced ahead both on the High Street and online. The sportswear firm said store sales in the UK and Ireland jumped by 10% in the six months to August, ‘against a backdrop of widely reported retail challenges in the UK’. Meanwhile group revenues – including international stores, online sales and its fledgling gym chain – surged 47% to £2.72billion. The impressive half-year results place JD Sports firmly in the lead ahead of its troubled tracksuit and trainer rival Sports Direct. The cut price sports chain founded by Mike Ashley has suffered a string of embarrassments of late, including a shock £600million tax bill and the loss of its near-30 per cent stake in Debenhams. |
| Housebuilder has rekindled talks with rival Galliford Try (GFRD) over merging with its housing arm in a deal valuing the newly formed firm at £1.08billion. Bovis said the talks to combine Bovis Homes and Galliford’s Linden Homes unit are at an early stage, and stressed there remains significant work to be completed before a deal can be agreed. The tie-up would not be a full merger of the two companies, with Galliford Try remaining a separately listed non-housing construction firm. The potential deal would see Bovis pay Galliford £300million in cash, award shares worth £675million to Galliford investors and take on £100million worth of debt. Bovis would also take on Galliford’s pension schemes. Following completion of the proposed deal, Galliford Try shareholders would own around 29% of the enlarged Bovis Homes. |
 | Shares in struggling fashion chain Superdry (SDRY) fell after analysts warned ‘radical’ change was needed. As it prepared to meet shareholders at the annual meeting today, Investec urged investors to sell their shares as the retailer’s target price was slashed from 490p to 370p. Investec was previously a broker for Superdry but quit this year after co-founder Julian Dunkerton orchestrated a boardroom clear-out and returned to head the firm, ousting former chief executive Euan Sutherland. Dunkerton has admitted it will take time to revive Superdry, which sunk to an £85million loss in July after it wrote off the value of poorly-performing stores. He blamed the ‘misguided strategy’ introduced by former management. |
 | Altitude Group (ALT) lost height after warning that sales haven’t taken off as much as management had hoped. Revenue at Altitude is expected to have jumped 42% to £5.4million compared with the first six months of 2018. Turnover was boosted by the acquisition of a US firm early this year. But third and fourth quarter revenues will track ‘well below expectations’. |
| Metro Bank (MTRO) will soon drop out of the FTSE 250. The up coming relegation could have further-reaching consequences, analysts warn. Dropping out of the mid-cap index will limit the amount of funds which may be able to invest in it, as many focus primarily on FTSE 350 firms. This, in turn, could squeeze its ability to raise cash from shareholders in future, according to Goodbody analysts, and result in it being snapped up by a High Street lender if it is unable to produce better returns for investors. If Metro becomes a takeover target it will dash Metro’s dream of becoming a heavyweight challenger to the UK’s established lenders. |
 | Premier Foods (PFD) shares have suffered in the last year, down a cool 22% from what they were trading at last September. Focus on the company has intensified since it last week appointed a chairman, City veteran Colin Day, and chief executive, Alex Whitehouse. Former finance boss and interim chief executive Alastair Murray was handed a £480,000 pay cheque as he departed. Sources say £60,000 of this is an extra three months’ worth of the monthly £20,000 he got for stepping up into the chief executive role. A strategic review of the firm is under way and speculation is rife that this could include the sale of five (or more) of its major brands, with cake-maker Mr Kipling thought to be in the line of fire. Premier is keeping quiet on any possible sales, though it has tried to sell Ambrosia. |
| Anglesey Mining has said it believes there could be much more ‘potentially mineable’ ore at a zinc, copper and lead site on Parys Mountain on Anglesey than it previously thought, sending its stock soaring 17.1 per cent, or 0.3p, to 2.05p. | |
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