International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) – BA fights to lose ‘deficit with wings’ tag after sealing £4.4bn Legal & General pension deal. The deal, codenamed ‘Project Elias’ internally and the largest of its kind to take place in the UK, will see Legal & General Group (LGEN) take responsibility for the Airways Pension Scheme (APS) covering nearly 22,000 of the airline’s former workers. APS has a deficit of £469m, according to BA’s 2017 annual report, and liabilities of £7.7bn, of which L&G will take on £4.4bn.
GVC Holdings (GVC) – Ladbrokes chief Kenny Alexander brushes off spectre of advertising crackdown. The boss of Britain’s biggest bookmaker is “not particularly concerned” about restrictions being placed on TV gambling adverts, insisting rivals without a high street presence have the most to fear from an industry clampdown. Although the Government concluded earlier this year that there was a lack of evidence that gambling advertising was causing harm, the football World Cup – and associated heavy marketing by bookies – has led to renewed calls for change.
Morrisons to start exporting to Thailand as sales boom. Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) burgeoning wholesale business is to take a bold step into foreign climes with a deal to supply Thailand’s Big C grocery store chain with a range of 100 of its own-branded products. The deal is the first of its kind for Morrisons, which also supplies Amazon Fresh, Ocado, McColl’s and Sandpiper, the biggest grocer on the Channel Islands.
Train up disadvantaged youths to end skills shortage, says Balfour Beatty (BBY) chief. Businesses are failing to train up young workers from poor families, missing an opportunity to solve the skills crisis and to improve social mobility at the same time, an industry leader has warned. Balfour Beatty chief executive Leo Quinn said it is a “tragedy” that businesses and wider society are losing out as a result.
Sanjeev Gupta’s tidal power firm unveils world’s largest turbine. Bristol-based turbine maker SIMEC Atlantis Energy Limited (SAE) said its design for a 2MW turbine would be able to accommodate rotors with a diameter of between 65 to 78 feet (19m-23m), making the turbine the most powerful in the world. The company said it was already in discussions with various governments and developers to identify locations for manufacture and testing of the technology, which could herald “the next phase of large-scale array deployment”.
Ophir Energy (OPHR) board is planning to abandon its UK headquarters in favour of a base in South East Asia as it battles to stem spiralling losses. The oil and gas company’s interim chief executive Alan Booth addressed its 50-strong staff at a meeting yesterday morning to confirm that the London office would be “significantly reduced”. He said the number of employees who will keep their UK-based job would depend on the statutory requirements to maintain its status as a UK company.
Fund management titan Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income (ASLI) has launched a multibillion-pound expansion into Europe’s railways, with plans to buy fleets of trains on the Continent and compete with the state-backed operators that proliferate the market. The FTSE 100 company has entered into a joint venture with Rock Rail, a specialist owner of rolling stock such as trains, carriages and engines. The joint venture is a bid to take advantage of the opening up of Europe’s railways. EU rules coming into effect next year will see competitive tendering processes made compulsory, pitting private companies against the state-backed incumbents.
Questor: two defensive income funds and one speculative growth portfolio – all worth holding. Secure Income Reit (SIR), Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) and Twentyfour Income Fund Limited Ord Red (TFIF).
