Peel Group and Brookfield eye £2bn Intu takeover. John Whittaker, the deputy chairman of Lakeside-owner Intu Properties (INTU), is mulling a potential deal to take the company private that would value the beleaguered shopping centre developer at more than £2bn. Mr Whittaker, one of Britain’s richest men, already owns 27% of Intu through his investment firm Peel Group and is working with US asset manager Brookfield and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan on a possible offer for the rest of the company.
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) has been ordered to tighten its procedures by the competition watchdog after it failed to tell thousands of customers about their right to cancel their payment protection insurance. The Competition and Markets Authority said it is taking action against the bank for “serious breaches” after it failed to remind 14,000 customers between 2012 and 2018 that they still have a policy and can cancel. It also sent incorrect information to 2,884 others.
Ted Baker’s shares sink as House of Fraser knocks profits. Ted Baker (TED) has dismayed investors after reporting a fall in profits and warning that the second half of its year would “remain challenging”. The high-end brand, which has to date appeared immune to the travails of the high street, reported a 3% drop in pre-tax profits to £24.5m for the six months to August 11. Shares sank 13% in morning trading, before paring losses to trade 8% lower at £21. House of Fraser’s administration and subsequent takeover by Sports Direct dealt Ted Baker a £600,000 hit that it no longer expects to recoup.
DFS blames summer heatwave for frying demand. Profits at DFS Furniture (DFS) have halved as weak consumer confidence and the summer heatwave frazzled the furniture retailer’s performance. The company’s pre-tax profits plunged 49% to £25.8m for the year to July 28, as it grappled with an “exceptional downturn” during the fourth quarter. Despite the blow, chief executive Ian Filby said the market had recovered at the start of the new financial year, but cautioned that it was benefiting from “deferred purchases”. Shares in DFS fell more than 3% to 201.5p in lunchtime trading.
Burberry slumped to a four-month low after the luxury goods sector was rattled by fears of slowing demand in growth-driver China. Burberry Group (BRBY) led a sector-wide slump amid reports that China is clamping down on shoppers bringing back luxury goods from abroad as part of an effort to repatriate consumer spending. Asia Pacific is Burberry’s biggest market but there are fears that Chinese shoppers could already be reining in spending as the economy stutters and trade war fears take hold.
Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) continued its freefall after scribblers at broker Jefferies became the latest to hit the private hospital operator with a ratings downgrade. Analyst James Vane-Tempest warned clients that Spire’s 2022 targets “already look ambitious” after a “substantial” decline in referrals from the NHS following budget cuts. He added that the lack of previous hospital experience in Spire’s top team “increases execution hurdles”.
Audioboom Group (BOOM) plummeted to its lowest level in more than four years after admitting that it had lost “key content” by calling off its merger with US rival Triton Digital in May.
Regulatory approval for CYBG (CYBG) all-share takeover of Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.) boosted the two challenger banks 8.2p to 317.8p and 15.5p to 384.6p, respectively. CYBG will issue shares to Virgin Money investors on Oct 15.
BTG (BTG) rallied 28.5p to 588p after upgrading its full-year sales guidance following a strong first half of the year.
Electrocomponents (ECM) jumped 30.8p to 749.4p after predicting a 27% jump in pre-tax profit in the first half.
