  | Major oil and gas companies have invested $50bn (£40.6bn) in fossil fuel projects that undermine global efforts to avert a runaway climate crisis, according to a report. Since the start of last year, fossil fuel companies have spent billions on high-cost plans to extract oil and gas from tar sands, deepwater fields and the Arctic despite the risks to the climate and shareholder returns. Carbon Tracker, a financial thinktank, found that ExxonMobil, Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) and BP (BP.) each spent at least 30% of their investment in 2018 on projects that are inconsistent with climate targets, and would be “deep out of the money in a low-carbon world”. Andrew Grant, the author of the report, said: “Every oil major is betting heavily against a 1.5C world and investing in projects that are contrary to the Paris goals.” The study is the first to analyse individual projects to test whether they are compliant with a 1.5C world, and whether they would be financially sustainable in a low-carbon world. |
 | William Hill (WMH) has announced the departure of its chief executive Philip Bowcock, who has been replaced by the company’s chief digital officer, Ulrik Bengtsson. Bengtsson, who will take over on 30 September, joined William Hill in April 2018 and previously ran Betsson, a Swedish online gaming company. Bowcock will remain at the group until the end of the year to help with the transition. The UK betting company said the change formed part of its “strategy of becoming a digitally led and internationally diverse gambling company”. William Hill’s high street business took a deeper hit than rivals from curbs on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs), which cost it nearly £1bn. |
 | Lombard – CYBG (CYBG) pays the price for not working out PPI bill. Uncertainty over how many claims may be upheld sent shares down 20% |
| Virgin Group hit by sharp share price fall at CYBG (CYBG). UK lender loses fifth of market value after warning of further PPI costs |
| William Hill (WMH) appoints digital chief as CEO in online push. Ulrik Bengtsson will replace Philip Bowcock in top job at UK bookmaker |
 | Melrose Industries (MRO) shares surge after company raises dividend. Robust outlook fuels jump as group hails progress after £8bn hostile takeover of GKN |
| Lex – Melrose Industries (MRO)/GKN: visceral venture. UK industrial specialist is a healthy business in an unhealthy environment |
 | Boohoo.com (BOO) boosts full-year guidance as sales soar. Online fashion retailer reaps benefits of consumer shift online |
 | Banks have been hammered by a rush of last-minute PPI claims that will cost them an extra £17billion. The deluge of compensation demands lodged before the August 29 cut-off date is expected to bring lenders’ total bill to more than £50billion. The previous running estimate was put at £36billion, with analysts saying the final cost was ‘well beyond people’s expectations’. As the Co-op Bank became the latest bank to warn of a late spike in claims, shares in Clydesdale Bank owner CYBG (CYBG) crashed by more than 21% after it revealed it had been hit with nearly 10,000 per day in the weeks before the deadline. It came just a day after state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) said it was having to lock away up to £900million more to cover the stampede of claims it was also facing. |
| William Hill (WMH) has appointed a digital expert as chief executive as it moves away from the High Street towards online betting. The bookmaker’s chief digital officer, Ulrik Bengtsson, will take the reins at the end of the month. William Hill has joined the race with rivals such as GVC, which owns Ladbrokes Coral, to expand across the US.A Supreme Court ruling last year liberalising sports betting has sparked a gold rush for bookmakers hoping to capitalise. William Hill confirmed yesterday that previous boss Philip Bowcock is a ‘good leaver’, and will receive his notice pay and any bonus schemes he is entitled to. |
| Boohoo.com (BOO) saw its shares reach a new all-time high today as the fast fashion firm continued to defy the wider gloom in the British retail sector. In a rare turn of events, the online-only company told shareholders that its full-year sales are now likely to be exceed expectations, thanks to a stellar performance during the summer. Boohoo said it thinks its sales for the year will now jump by between 33% and 38%, after previously forecasting growth of between 25% and 30%. Its profits, meanwhile, are expected to remain in line with forecasts – a 10 per cent uplift – as it plans to invest in the brands it acquired during the year, including Coast and Karen Millen. |
| The turnaround specialist that owns GKN has narrowed its losses. Melrose Industries (MRO) reported a loss of £128million for the six months to June 30, down from £372million during the same period last year. Sales rose from £2.8billion to £5.7billion, following its takeover of the British engineering group. Melrose’s strategy to overhaul the firm was ‘progressing well’ and it is pumping record investment into the aerospace division. |
 | Redrow (RDW) said profits jumped from £380million to £406million in the year to June 30, after sales rose from £1.9billion to £2.1billion. It sold 6,443 homes over the period, up from 5,718 the previous year. Nearly one third of these were bought by households using Help to Buy. Redrow said Help to Buy helped boost sales, along with the ongoing shortage of new homes on the market and fierce competition between mortgage lenders. But chief executive John Tutte rejected criticism of Help to Buy and insisted it would be ‘near impossible’ for some families to buy a home without it. |
  | The boss of transport giant Go-Ahead Group (GOG) has signalled potential interest in rival FirstGroup’s under-review UK bus arm as he revealed rail woes sent annual earnings tumbling. Speaking to the PA news agency, Go-Ahead chief executive David Brown said the group looks ‘at all opportunities that come along’ and is in the market for buying bus businesses that need turning around. While FirstGroup (FGP) has not decided if it will sell its UK bus business, it has confirmed aims to separate out the division and is reviewing options for ‘structural alternatives’, including a sale. Asked if Go-Ahead would be interested in FirstGroup’s bus business, Brown said: ‘We consider all opportunities. We are in the business of buying businesses on the bus side that we can turn around.’ |
 | 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) has been rattled by an accounting error, its founder and chairman has said he will leave, and the lender will soon drop out of the FTSE 250. But 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. |
 | 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. |
 | North Sea-focused oil group EnQuest (ENQ) was boosted by news it has hired former BG Group operations chief Martin Houston as chairman from October 1. Enquest also said that it has chipped away at its debt pile, which stood at £1.3billion by the end of June, compared with £1.4billion at the same time last year. |
 | Anglesey Mining (AYM) 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. |
| Melrose Industries (MRO) said its revival of GKN was taking hold following its bitter £8.1bn fight to take control of the ailing aerospace and automotive parts manufacturer. Posting interim results, turnaround investor Melrose said it had boosted margins at the aerospace business, while managing to maintain profits at the car parts unit despite a global slump in the automotive industry. Melrose reported group headline revenue of £5.7bn, up from £2.8bn last time round. The increase reflected it swallowing up the much larger GKN 14 months ago, which propelled Melrose into the FTSE 100. |
 | Dixons Carphone (DC.) faced a backlash from investors at its annual meeting over high salaries and other bonuses awarded to management. Almost a quarter of its shareholders voted against the retailer’s remuneration report. Institutional Shareholder Services, the influential City corporate governance body, had called on investors to reject chief executive Alex Baldock’s share awards, worth more than £2.3m long term. The retailer said after the meeting that it would “seek to consult further with shareholders to understand and discuss the specific rationale for any votes against our report”. The pushback came after Dixons met expectations with home appliances, but smartphone sales continued to be a major headache. |
| Boohoo.com (BOO) posted a jump in sales for the first half of its year, in significant contrast with rival Asos, which recently sounded the alarm on profits again. The online retailer told the City in an unplanned update that shoppers bought more of its clothes and shoes than it had expected and sales for the year would grow by up to 38%, compared with the 30% rise it had pencilled in. However, it felt short of upgrading its underlying profit forecast, which should still rise 10pc, saying it wanted to inject more cash into the business. It also owns sister brands Nasty Gal and Pretty Little Thing. |
| The curse of finding a long-term leader at William Hill (WMH) has hit again, after boss Philip Bowcock made the surprise announcement that he would step down at the end of the month. Digital chief Ulrik Bengtsson will replace Mr Bowcock, making him William Hill’s third chief executive in five years. Until 2014, William Hill had been led by Ralph Topping, a 40-year veteran with the company who masterminded the company’s rise to being Britain’s biggest listed bookmaker. Chairman Roger Devlin said Mr Bowcock “has set a clear strategy, driven our expansion in the US and reinvented our approach to safer gambling”. It is understood that Mr Bowcock, who was appointed initially on an interim basis in July 2016, turned down the opportunity to commit to the company for the next five years. |
| The boss of Redrow (RDW) came out in defence of the Government’s Help to Buy scheme as the housebuilder delivered record results for the sixth year running. The scheme has been criticised by many for boosting housebuilders’ profits while failing to solve the plight of first-time buyers struggling to get onto the property ladder. “There’s been lots of accusations of profits growing all off the back of Help to Buy,” said John Tutte, Redrow’s executive chairman. “That’s certainly not the case with us. “It might be the cherry on the cake but it’s not been the icing. We have driven growth in our business irrespective of Help to Buy. We’ve grown more because of it but we still would have had very commendable growth without it.” |
| Boohoo.com (BOO) is on track to make more than £1 billion in sales for the first time after shoppers flocked to its website for cheap metallic bikinis and clingy summer dresses. The fast-fashion online retailer made an unscheduled announcement yesterday that its sales would be higher than anticipated, a welcome change for retail investors who have become used to profit warnings from the sector amid weakening consumer confidence. The company said that its performance in the first half had been ahead of expectations and it expects sales to be between 33% and 38% higher than last year, compared with its previous guidance of between 25% and 30%. |
| Melrose Industries (MRO) has allayed investor concerns about its £8 billion takeover of GKN, the automotive and aerospace group, after posting better-than- expected financial results and increasing its dividend. Melrose said yesterday that GKN’s automotive business is holding up in a struggling sector, that group net debt was steady at £3.5 billion and that underlying pre-tax profits rose 76% in the first half of the year. This prompted the company to increase its interim dividend by 10% to 1.7p per share. |
| William Hill (WMH) announced that its chief digital officer will take over from Philip Bowcock as chief executive. The bookmaker said that Ulrik Bengtsson, a former chief executive of Betsson, an online gaming company listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, had been appointed chief executive designate and would replace Mr Bowcock at the end of the month. The departure of Mr Bowcock, 51, who will remain an employee until the end of December, comes as William Hill starts closing about 700 of its betting shops after the hit on profits from the government crackdown on fixed-odds betting terminals, putting 4,500 jobs at risk. |
| About $50 billion of projects approved by oil companies including Royal Dutch Shell ‘B’ (RDSB) and BP (BP.) within the past year will fail to deliver economic returns if the world meets the Paris climate goals, according to new analysis. Shell’s huge Canadian liquefied natural gas project, approved last October, and BP’s latest Azerbaijan oil development, approved in April, are among projects that risk becoming “stranded assets”, according to Carbon Tracker, a not-for-profit think tank, which aims to “align capital markets with climate reality”. With reduced global demand suppressing prices, “only the lowest-cost projects will deliver an economic return”, it argues. It calculates that future, reduced demand for oil can be satisfied with projects that break even at below $40 a barrel but “pursuing higher-cost projects risks creating stranded assets that will never deliver adequate returns”. |
| Go-Ahead Group (GOG) has shrugged off another setback, last year’s loss of its London Midland rail contract, to post better than expected profits. It is also to retain the dividend and the decision sent its shares close to a 30-month high. The group has benefited from a profit surge at its Southeastern train franchise in and out of the capital to Kent and from strong performance at its London bus operation, where punctuality and bonuses are up because of fewer roadworks. |
| Investors in Clydesdale Bank headed for the exit after its announcement about a possible £450 million hit from new payment protection insurance claims, raising questions about its dividend and capital. Shares in CYBG (CYBG) fell 30p, to 110p. Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has lost nearly £300 million on its 13% stake in the business since CYBG bought Virgin Money in October last year for £1.7 billion. Ian Gordon, an analyst at Investec, said that Clydesdale’s new charge was “really quite shocking”. Clydesdale insisted that its capital was robust. In a statement on Wednesday evening the bank said that even after the provision it would retain a “significant buffer” above its regulatory minimum level of capital. The new provision may prevent it from paying a dividend this year. Citigroup analysts said: “We expect CYBG to cancel dividends rather than raise capital at highly dilutive levels or materially slow growth.” |
| Dixons Carphone (DC.) reported another slump in its loss-making mobile phone business but a boost in sales of fridges and game consoles helped the retailer to avoid another profit warning. The electricals retailer reassured investors in a trading update yesterday that its turnaround was on track and that it was sticking with its financial guidance, which boosted its share price. However, Dixons Carphone suffered a backlash from shareholders later in the day at its annual meeting. Almost a quarter of investors rebelled after ISS, a proxy adviser, recommended a vote against long-term share awards for Alex Baldock, chief executive, with a face value of £2.3 million. |
 | Lord Smith of Kelvin, a veteran of the British corporate sector, has resigned as chairman of Alliance Trust (ATST). He is being replaced by Gregor Stewart, the deputy chairman. Alliance, is a constituent of the FTSE 250 index and has a record of increasing its annual dividend going back more than 50 years. Lord Smith, 75, was appointed at the start of 2016 following a bruising boardroom battle led by the activist investor Elliott Advisors, which resulted in several directors leaving. During the Glaswegian’s term as head of the board, the trust’s management structure has been overhauled and its subsidiaries and non-core interests offloaded. |
| Redrow (RDW) is the latest housebuilder to report a record annual profit despite a subdued market at the end of the year and lower selling prices in London. The housebuilder delivered a pre-tax profit of £406 million for the year to the end of June, up 7% on year as revenue rose by 10% to £2.1 billion. It sold 6,443 homes, a record in its history and 13% higher than the previous year. The average selling price for the period fell by 2% to £324,500, which the company said was down to a higher social housing output. The forward order book at the start of the financial year was £1.02 billion, a fall of £129 million on the previous year, which the builder said was a result of “weaker trading towards the end of the first half, and lower volumes and average selling prices in London”. |
| Investors behind have begun cashing in after a strong debut. Shares in the FTSE 250 company have rallied since the initial public offering and were just shy of their peak when they closed on Wednesday at 627p, 44% above the float price. Capitalising on demand and the share price rise, a six-month lock-up period, due to expire next month, has been waived and the private equity firms and banks have raised £580 million through the placing of 100 million of shares, or 20% of the existing share capital. The 580p-a-share price was a 7.5% discount to Wednesday’s close. | |
 | David Shelton, co-founder of Motorpoint Group (MOTR), and a non-executive director, is offloading 8 million shares because of divorce proceedings, about 9% of the company’s share capital. The placing, announced after the close yesterday, is worth £19.2 million based on Motorpoint’s shares, which closed down 2p at 240p. |
 | Target Healthcare Reit Ltd (THRL) is looking to raise about £50 million through a placing at 110½p, having raised £144 million last year from investors. The placing is at a 6.2% discount to Wednesday’s closing price but a 2.8% premium to its net asset value at the end of June. Target has identified ten assets worth about £92 million, which it expects to commit to by the end of the year. Malcolm Naish, 66, the chairman, said it had identified a “significant pipeline of opportunities . . . allowing us to continue to grow the size and scale of the business”. |
 | Tempus – Balfour Beatty (BBY): Avoid. Company has gone from strength to strength under its present management but the wider sector remains too unappealing |
 | Tempus – FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM): Buy on weakness. Growing company with interesting model whose shares are overly punished |
 | Britain’s biggest housebuilder has shrugged off the tough housing market to report record annual profits of £910m, although it warned sales growth this year would be slower than expected. Barratt Developments (BDEV) reported an 8.9% rise in pre-tax profits to £909.8m for the year to 30 June, with sales surging to an 11-year high and margins improving. It announced a special dividend of 17.3p a share. The company, the UK’s largest housebuilder by sales, sold 17,856 new homes last year, up from 17,579 the previous year. Sales in London were flat but rose outside the capital and in Scotland. The average selling price dropped to £274,400 from £288,900 as the company continued to shift away from central London to focus on the outer boroughs and areas such as Milton Keynes. Barratt has benefited from the government’s help-to-buy scheme, which accounted for 40% of sales. Its rival Persimmon, another major beneficiary of the taxpayer-funded programme, caused outrage in February when it made a profit of £1.09bn in 2018, the biggest ever made by a UK housebuilder, with nearly half of its sales coming from help to buy. |
 | Ryanair Holdings (RYA) pilots in the UK are to strike for a further seven days in September, the union has announced. The British Airline Pilots Association (Balpa) said its members would walk out for a series of 24-hour stoppages between 18 and 29 September, adding that Ryanair had refused to seek conciliation talks at Acas to resolve the dispute over pay and working conditions. The carrier has managed to operate all of its scheduled UK flights this week despite a three-day strike by domestic pilots, partly by bringing in more contractors and moving its pilots from around Europe. The union admitted that the strikes to date, including a two-day stoppage in late August, had a “limited impact” on the travelling public but caused considerable internal disruption at the airline. |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) has warned it could be hit with a further £900m bill for mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) after apparently being caught out by a last-minute surge in claims. The rival banking group CYBG – whose brands include the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks and Virgin Money – has also indicated it faces a big bill after being deluged with claims. PPI is Britain’s costliest consumer scandal, with £36bn paid out by UK banks to compensate people who bought often worthless insurance cover thinking it would help them repay debts in the event of sickness or unemployment. However, this total does not include payouts made in July or August, or those still to be made, so is likely to rise sharply over the coming months. |
 | Halfords Group (HFD) has issued another profit warning, blaming poor summer weather and flagging consumer confidence for a slump in sales. The UK’s biggest bike retailer said total revenues slumped 3.9% in the 20 weeks to 16 August as the business struggled amid a “challenging retail backdrop” on the high street. Halfords said in light of the tough conditions it expected underlying profits before tax this year to be in the range of £50m to £55m. In May, Halfords told investors to expect profits “broadly in line” with its 2018 earnings of £58.8m. The company’s share price fell more than 3% in early trading on Wednesday hitting a new 52-week low.“After the hottest summer in 100 years last year we weren’t expecting to see massive growth in cycling sales this year,” said Graham Stapleton, the chief executive. “We don’t think there is a structural issue here, we think there is a consumer confidence issue affecting the timing of some spending, with some weather.” |
 | Lombard – Cobham (COB) should have worked harder to avoid Advent’s talons. UK group has not been easy investment with a history of profit warnings and contract disputes |
| Lex – Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS)/PPI: feeling the burn. UK bank’s payment protection insurance costs will be higher than expected |
| Barratt Developments (BDEV) reports record profits despite Brexit uncertainty. Higher margins help Britain’s largest housebuilder defy subdued market |
| Halfords Group (HFD) blames consumer fears for third profit warning. Cycle and car parts retailer says sales down 4% on last year |
| BP (BP.) sacking of worker over Nazi parody video upheld by tribunal. Decision in Australia latest in series of employment law cases involving social media use |
| Cobham (COB) family steps up fight to block takeover of group. Lady Cobham urges vote against Advent bid as government seeks economic undertakings |
 | Schroders (SDR) shakes up senior management as competition intensifies. London-listed manager strengthens team to face off rivals such as BlackRock |
| Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) to take hit of up to £900m from late PPI claims. Provision to wipe out up to a third of UK lender’s annual profits |
 | Insurer Just Group (JUST) warns it may need to hold more capital. Shares tumble as group takes hit from new rules on equity release mortgages |
| The widow leading the charge against the £4billion takeover of British defence group Cobham (COB) has taken her fight to the firm’s top shareholders. Lady Cobham, who was married to former boss Sir Michael Cobham, the son of founder Sir Alan Cobham, has written to the company’s 15 largest investors urging them to vote against the deal this month. She argues that the 165p- per-share bid from the US private equity group Advent International ‘significantly undervalues’ the firm in the wake of a turnaround that is starting to pay off. |
| Shares in Barratt Developments (BDEV) slipped despite the company revealing a record annual profits haul. As it revealed a 9% uplift, Barratt also came clean on slightly weaker trading since July and flagged ‘potential changes in the operating environment in 2020 and beyond’. In addition to the risk of a no-deal Brexit, Barratt and its housebuilding rivals are said to be fearing the end of the Government’s controversial Help to Buy scheme, which is gradually being phased out after a recent extension. |
 | A social media star famed by Hannah Uttley for cleaning tips and housekeeping advice has boosted sales at the homeware retailer Dunelm Group (DNLM). Customers flocked to its stores and website after ‘cleaning influencer’ Sophie Hinchliffe, known as Mrs Hinch, posted a photograph of a £10 bamboo bath tray from the retailer on Instagram. Dunelm chief executive Nick Wilkinson said subsequent demand was so strong the tray sold out. He said: ‘The background of many people’s selfies is their home. Some people are choosing to show photographs of how well they’re managing their home, including some influencers. ‘You’ve got the likes of Mrs Hinch who are painting a picture of perfection and a beautiful home.’ |
 | Pub group Fuller Smith & Turner (FSTA) will dish out £69million to shareholders after completing the £250million sale of its brewery arm to Japan’s Asahi in January. The London-based company saw shares rise as its pubs and hotels arm thrived. It hailed a ‘good start’ to the financial year in an update ahead of its annual general meeting in NovemberSales in the managed pubs and hotels division rose 2.5% for the 22 weeks to August 31, while like-for-like profits in its tenanted arm fell 2%. |
 | Construction equipment specialist Somero Enterprises Inc. (DI) (SOM) sank after bad weather hit sales in the US. The company said sales slid 13 per cent to £32million in the six months to June 30. Profits fell from £11.2million to £8.6million. Boss Jack Cooney blamed ‘extraordinarily heavy rainfall’ in the US, although trading also dropped off in Europe and the Middle East. |
 | Months after Non-Standard Finance (NSF) dropped its £1.3billion bid to buy rival Provident Financial, it seems that the predator is about to become the prey. Private equity firm Alchemy Partners could be angling to take the sub-prime lender private, according to analysts at brokerage Goodbody. They believe that Alchemy snapping up a 19% stake in NSF is ‘likely a prelude to a full take-private’. Alchemy bought the stake from the beleaguered fund manager Neil Woodford, it was disclosed on Tuesday, who now has less than 5% of NSF’s shares.The sale will be a bitter blow for NSF’s boss, former Provvy chief executive John van Kuffeler, as Woodford was one of the key investors who had backed the aborted takeover. Alchemy’s specialism in buying distressed companies probably won’t help matters either. |
 | Intellectual property specialist IP Group (IPO) rose to 58.4p as Jefferies analysts upgraded it to ‘hold’ from ‘underperform’. They believe it could be a target for activist investors, similar to the way another Woodford stock pick, Allied Minds, has been. |
 | Avast Software (AVST) slid as much as 11% after its second-largest shareholder, Sybil Holdings, sold its entire 12.4% stake – 120.9m shares – at 367p a pop. |
 | Restaurant Group (RTN) fell as analysts at Stifel trimmed its target price from 180p to 175p, which followed the firm outlining plans on Tuesday to close more than 150 restaurants. |
 | Highlands Natural Resources (HNR) fell to 4.55p, after it revealed plans for co-founder and chief executive Robert Price to exit the Denver-based firm. It has said it will focus its attention on growing its recently launched cannabis business, which will be overseen by new boss Nick Tulloch. It will now look to sell or close its oil and gas businesses. |
  | Miton Group (MGR) soared after it agreed the terms of an all-share merger with rival Premier Asset Management Group (PAM), creating an £11.5billion asset manager called Premier Miton Group. |
 | Mobile Streams (MOS), which sells games and apps for mobile phones in India and Latin America, plunged after it proposed delisting from AIM and re-registering as a private company. |
| Several banks have warned of additional financial hits after a sudden surge in payment protection insurance claims ahead of last month’s deadline. Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) said PPI claims had spiked before the Aug 29 cut-off date and were “significantly higher than expected”. It warned this sudden increase in volume could result in an unexpected charge of between £600m and £900m in its third quarter results, on top of the £5.3bn already set aside. CYBG (CYBG), which owns Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and Virgin Money, also said it had seen a rush in claims ahead of the August deadline with a final bill of between £300m and £450m. “The group is seeking to establish an initial cost estimate, which is expected to be material, and the group will update the market as soon as possible,” it said. |
| Just Group (JUST) shares took a hit after the life insurer said first-half profits fell by more than a quarter to £114m as it seeks to comply with new rules forcing it to hold more capital behind its lifetime mortgage products. New regulations introduced by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) could increase the amount of capital the company needs to hold by another £130m by the end of 2021. Just Group was forced to tap investors for another £375m earlier this year to offset the changes, although interim chief executive David Richardson said there were no plans for further fundraisings in 2019. The company completed a new £118m reinsurance transaction during the first half of the year which Mr Richardson said had showed “demonstrable action” to improve its capital position that is “not reliant on borrowing from the market”. |
| The boss of Halfords Group (HFD) has put on a brave face despite issuing another profit warning following a sales slump. Chief executive Graham Stapleton said he was “pleased with the early progress – we’ve never been more confident it’s the right strategy.” The bike and car parts retailer said profits will be between £50m and £55m – lower than the £58m it expected. Total revenue slumped 3.9% for the 20 weeks to August 16. Retail continued to be the thorn in Halfords’ side, with like-for-like sales down 5.9% in motoring and 1.1% in cycling, which offset a 1.1% rise in the autocentre division. Halfords has blamed last year’s warm and dry weather, which boosted its bike business, and customers tightening their belts with the Brexit date fast approaching. In May the company told investors to expect flat profits. |
| Dunelm Group (DNLM) jump in sales and profits was not enough to stop spooked investors from offloading their shares in the retailer after it offered a gloomy outlook on its prospects. The business warned that Brexit uncertainty could put shoppers off sprucing up their homes. The stock dropped almost 10% after it ticked up initially on the back of strong numbers. This was despite paying a special dividend of 32p a share to investors. Chief executive Nick Wilkinson, who has been overhauling the business, said: “We’re not seeing that now, but I’m mindful those sort of things can happen. Homeware is a discretionary category, it is vulnerable to consumers choosing to put their money into savings, if they’re worried about uncertainty. “It also transfers into other categories of products if, for example, food prices go up or people are buying more products ahead of anticipated shortages. We’re vulnerable on the demand side to those sort of things.” |
| Ryanair Holdings (RYA) British-based pilots have announced a fresh wave of industrial action as a bitter pay row remains in deadlock. Pilots will walk out for seven days later this month, starting with a 48-hour strike from Sept 18. Single day strikes will also take place on Sept 21, 23, 25, 27 and 29. The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) said the industrial action was a result of Ryanair’s refusal to enter into conciliation talks. The low-cost airline has been locked in a spat with pilots on both sides of the Irish Sea. Unions are demanding better and more transparent pay structures. Ryanair managed to block action by Irish pilots at the end of last month with a court injunction. A similar legal challenge in the UK failed and led to a 48-hour strike on Aug 22. A three-day walkout is set to finish at midnight on Wednesday. |
| The boss of Barratt Developments (BDEV) has said he has no concerns about Jeremy Corbyn coming to power in a possible general election. Political turmoil in Westminster has raised the prospect of a socialist government led by Mr Corbyn but Barratt’s chief executive, David Thomas, said this was not a worry for the building firm. “We’ve been in business for 60 years so we’ve worked with governments of all kinds,” he said. “Typically the Labour Party are very strong on the requirements for the provision of housing,” he added. “We are a housebuilder. We just want to build houses.” Labour’s previous election manifesto in 2017 was “very sensible” on housing issues, he said. Mr Thomas was speaking after Barratt reported that it sold more homes and achieved record profits in the 12 months to June. It continued to cash in on Government support for the sector and the country’s undersupply of housing. |
| Questor: this is the only trust to offer ‘accumulation units’ if you want to reinvest dividends. Questor investment trust bargain: ‘acc’ units are normally the preserve of open-ended funds but BMO Managed Portfolio – Income, – Growth, has an elegant answer. Buy |
| Britain’s biggest housebuilder has posted record annual profits as improved margins offset a fall in average selling prices. Barratt Developments (BDEV) delivered pre-tax profits of £909.8 million for the year to the end of June, an increase of 8.9% on the previous 12 months. The profit rise came despite a 2.3% decrease in revenue to £4.76 billion as the company’s average selling price fell to £274,400 from £288,900 a year earlier. Barratt said that the fall in selling prices reflected changes in its product mix and its strategy to stop developing in central London. |
| A leading member of the family that founded Cobham (COB) has stepped up her attempts to block the £4 billion sale of the defence and aerospace company by contacting leading shareholders. Lady Cobham has reportedly written to the 15 largest investors in Cobham in a bid to derail a takeover by the US private equity firm Advent International, which is to be put to a shareholder vote later this month. The letter follows her demands that Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, and Andrea Leadsom, the business secretary, intervene on the grounds of national security and the loss of high-tech jobs to the UK. |
| A surge in claims for mis-sold payment protection insurance before last week’s deadline has forced Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and CYBG (CYBG) to set aside an extra £1 billion to cover the bill. RBS said it would take a charge of £600 million to £900 million in its third-quarter results. Clydesdale will increase provisions by between £300 million and £450 million. The unexpected announcements prompted speculation that other lenders would have to increase their provisions, potentially pushing the total cost for the mis-selling scandal well over £50 billion. |
| The three founding families behind Fuller Smith & Turner (FSTA) will share about £35 million from the sale of its brewing business to Asahi, the Japanese drinks group. Fuller’s, which dates back 174 years, surprised the market in January by announcing a £250 million disposal of the historic business, including London Pride ale and the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, west London. It said at the time that it would return between £55 million and £69 million of the £205 million of net proceeds to investors, with most of the rest being used to expand its pubs and hotels business, which has about 400 outlets. At yesterday’s annual meeting, Fuller’s confirmed that having completed the deal at the end of April, it had made a voluntary offer to inject £24 million into its pension fund and planned to return £69 million — the top end of the range — to its shareholders. |
 | Oxford Biomedica (OXB) said yesterday that it was focused on securing further partnerships and that it was in separate talks over licensing or spin-outs. John Dawson chief executive, said he hoped to make an announcement before the end of its financial year and that it was in partnership talks with a “big company at the moment”. Oxford Biomedica secured two breakthrough deals last year: a licensing agreement potentially worth $842.5 million with Axovant Sciences, a Nasdaq-listed company, to commercialise an injectable treatment for Parkinson’s disease and a $105 million haemophilia gene therapy collaboration with Bioverativ, part of Sanofi. |
| Dunelm Group (DNLM) has defied the retail gloom after a cleaning craze fuelled by social media influencers propelled sales of its mops, cushions and bath racks. The company’s valuation has soared by almost 60% in the year to date, putting it streets ahead of peers who have fallen out of favour with investors concerned about the health of the British retail sector. Nick Wilkinson, 53, chief executive, said that the boost in sales was partly because Instagram had made homewares a hot trend. “You can often see someone’s room in the background of their selfie so people are now giving their spaces extra attention,” he said. |
| The boss of Halfords Group (HFD) has said that he is pleased with its progress despite a fourth profit downgrade since he arrived in January last year. Graham Stapleton, 50, who joined from Dixons Carphone’s software business, has set out a strategy to weatherproof the retailer by boosting its services to customers. He said that the services side made Halfords unique: “They’re not something that you can buy online.” He added: “If you need to get an MOT, you get it done whether it rains, snows or shines.” |
 | Shares in the fast fashion retailer Quiz (QUIZ) fell sharply yesterday as it warned that tough conditions on the high street showed no signs of easing. The company said in a trading update that underlying sales since the end of March had been in line with last year. However, while its online sales were growing, it had suffered a reduction in shoppers visiting its high street shops. The shares close down 2¼p at 16¼p after the update before yesterday’s annual meeting, valuing the company at £20 million. |
 | Cambria Automobiles (CAMB) has been ditching franchises such as Fiat, Renault and Honda and replacing them with Bentley, Lamborghini and McLaren as well as cementing its position as the second largest Aston Martin dealer in the world. “The buyers in the ‘high luxury segment’ are still buying,” Mark Lavery, 54, Cambria’s chief executive, said. “They haven’t gone away and they won’t go away.” In a market update on its financial year, which has just closed, it reported that its brand upshift had resulted in an 11% fall in volumes, but said that the profits it would report in November would be “significantly” higher than last year and the expectation for this year. Zeus Capital, the broker, reckons profits will come in 22% better at £12 million. |
| Just Group (JUST), which scrapped shareholder payouts a year ago to shore up its balance sheet, said that it expected to restart dividends at a lower level this year. However, David Richardson, interim chief executive, said at half-year results yesterday that it had decided against paying an interim dividend because of the uncertainty over Brexit. A payout would have cost £4 million. “It isn’t like we can’t afford £4 million, it just doesn’t seem prudent or sensible to make that active step of recommencing dividends as you’re just about to sail into a storm,” Mr Richardson said. |
 | Britain’s increasingly chaotic political situation took its toll on Kainos Group (KNOS) as the digital services provider warned it was “cautious about public sector spending”. The company is a key supplier to the government in its digital transformation programme but said the “current political environment” gave it reason for caution. The warning took the shine off an otherwise positive trading update in which Kainos said it expected results for the full year to the end of March 2020 to be “in line with current market expectation”. |
 | Analysts at Barclays took a look at Hays (HAS) following its full-year results announcement last week. Hays was “experiencing a synchronised slowdown across all its main regions”, with a “general shortage of signs of likely improvement”, they said, reiterating their “equal weight” rating on the stock in order to wait and see how economic conditions pan out. They now forecast earnings per share would decline 7 per cent year on year. |
 | Allied Minds (ALM) announced a financing for one of its biggest investments. It said that Federated Wireless, which offers companies a mechanism to share wireless spectrum, had raised $51 million in a Series C financing. |
 | Shares in Inspired Energy (INSE) rose as the energy consultancy and brokerage reported improved first-half results. It negotiates gas, electricity and water contracts and offers advice on energy use. It has been expanding and last month said it was buying 40% of Ignite Energy, which offers management services. Mark Dickinson, chief executive, said: “Concluding 2018 with the Inprova acquisition was a significant strategic milestone for the group.” Inspired Energy said its order book had increased to £55.4 million as of the end of June, from £53 million at the end of December. The broker Peel Hunt said the results were slightly better than expected. The company had “a number of new notable blue-chip wins” and clients were diversified, ranging from Nandos to KPMG. |
 | Tempus – Bunzl (BNZL): Hold. Highly efficient and diversified business but likely to find trading tough in the near term |
 | Tempus – Hurricane Energy (HUR): Hold. Early signs are promising but more data is needed to evaluate Lancaster field fully |
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