FTSE 100 misses stocks rally as pound jumps on Brexit deal hopes.
Shareholders have backed CYBG (CYBG) £1.7bn all-share takeover of Virgin Money Holdings (UK) (VM.), and top investors believe it could start a buying spree. A top 10 investor in Virgin Money told The Telegraph he expected the tie-up to be the first of many. “The combined group will have quite a lot of surplus capital,” he said. “CYBG has a chance to create a challenger bank that actually has some heft and can compete effectively against the big banks. “Another takeover is unlikely in the next few months, but early to mid next year they could be in a position to do another deal.”
Unite Group (UTG) has sold off £181m of properties including its last remaining sites in Plymouth and Huddersfield as it shifts focus towards “high and mid-ranked” universities, mostly in major cities. The FTSE 250 company has agreed to sell 14 properties with 3,436 bedrooms to Asian media giant Singapore Press Holdings, which has been looking to expanding its overseas property investments.
Executives from payments giant Worldpay Group (WPG) will be among those going to India next month as the UK’s finance industry ramps up its attempt to charm global leaders ahead of Brexit. Worldpay’s director of government affairs Jana Mackintosh is expected to visit the country with the Lord Mayor of London, Charles Bowman, to discuss “how the two countries can work together more closely after the UK leaves the EU”, a person close to the plans said.
Debenhams (DEB) has failed to reassure investors over its future after parachuting in restructuring specialists to devise emergency turnaround plans. Shares in the retailer plunged by as much as 17% following revelations in the Sunday Telegraph that KPMG had been brought in to draw up contingency plans for the troubled business.
Associated British Foods (ABF) has enjoyed higher profits across its retail and grocery arms despite taking a £20m hit from the stronger pound. The company said its grocery division’s sales and profits would be “well ahead of last year”. Budget fashion chain Primark is also expected to book a 5.5% jump in sales over the period, after launching 15 stores worldwide. Like-for-like sales, which strip out new shops, dipped by 2% as unseasonable weather in Northern Europe dragged on performance.
RPC Group (RPC) shares rocketed on Monday after it confirmed takeover talks with two buyout firms that could lead to the FTSE 250 company being taken private for several billions pounds. RPC said it had been approached by two US private equity groups, Bain Capital and Apollo Global Management, about separate takeovers and that talks were in the early stages.
