– Mulberry Group (MUL) has warned that the collapse of House of Fraser into administration could cost it as much as £3m, causing its shares to plunge nearly 30%. According to creditor documents published by House of Fraser administrator EY, Mulberry is owed £2.4m. It comes as 627 jobs were put at risk at warehouse operator XPO Logistics following a standoff with new House of Fraser owner Mike Ashley over the £30.4m it was owed.
Birmingham Prison debacle is just the latest in a long line of controversies for G4S (GFS)
KPMG dealt another blow with £3m fine for Ted Baker (TED) audit
Countrywide (CWD) backs down over £20m management pay plan after investor backlash
Hospital group NMC Health (NMC) pushes into UK, Sweden and Africa as expansion ramps up
Competition to build cut-price frigates for Royal Navy relaunched. Bidders include a consortium led by Babcock International Group (BAB) which includes Thales, OMT, BMT, Harland and Wolff and Ferguson Marine and is offering a design called “Arrowhead”. Merseyside-based shipbuilder Cammell Laird is also offering the “Leander” design from defence giant BAE Systems (BA.)
Sage Group (SGE) slid to the bottom of the FTSE 100 on fears that its sales strategy reboot could be hampered by intensifying competition, as Deutsche Bank warned clients that higher-end rivals are eating into Sage’s market share and the “competitive situation” in its mid-market business appears to be “worsening”.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) shares inched up 3p to 243.9p on hopes that the Bank of England’s interest rate rise and heavy investment in its mortgages business will help the taxpayer-owned bank brush aside Brexit blues.
Housebuilders weighed heavily on the FTSE 100 after monthly price growth slumped to a 2018 low. House prices slipped back 2.3% in July, led by a decline in the London market, Rightmove (RMV) data indicated. Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) dropped 41p to £36.96 while Persimmon (PSN) edged down 18p to £24.44 ahead of its interim results today.
The Government stepping in to take control of a crisis-hit prison in Birmingham run by G4S was shrugged off by investors. G4S (GFS) shares slipped as much as 3% in early trade on it footing the bill for the shake-up at the prison, before recovering to finish just 3p lower at 249.4p.
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) rallied off a one-year low, rising 7.2p to 471.3p, after Liberum upgraded the miner to “hold”.
