– Ashley gets tough with suppliers to failed stores. House of Fraser concessions waiting for payment
Plus500 Ltd (DI) (PLUS) is braced for a kicking with tighter rules. The trade dispute between the US and China and a boom in cryptocurrency derivatives trading have given Plus 500 a boost, pushing revenues up almost 150% in the first six months of the year. However, the Israel-based and London-listed online broker, which sponsors Atletico Madrid, said the bumper performance was unlikely to be repeated because of new regulations.
Sir Peter Wood could be in line for a £360 million payday if esure Group (ESUR), the listed UK insurer he founded nearly two decades ago, is taken private by Bain Capital for £1.2 billion.
WPP (WPP) is to relinquish the lease on its central London headquarters in another significant break from the era of Sir Martin Sorrell after his abrupt resignation as chief executive in April.
Shipping broker reaches calmer shores on tide of rising dollar. Clarkson (CKN), the shipping broker, has gone some way to repairing the damage of a shock profit warning in the spring with a more upbeat outlook helped by the strengthening dollar.
Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) – The founder of the Wetherspoons pub chain says the company is reviewing the “whole range” of products it sources from the European Union in an attempt to find alternatives from Britain and non-EU countries.
Intu Properties (INTU) annus horribilis gets worse as shoppers cool off
The decline in the Turkish lira continued to cast a shadow over markets. The broader FTSE 250 closed down 92.34 points at 20,575.11. Travel companies that offer holiday packages in Turkey were among the worst affected. TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) fell to the bottom of the FTSE 100, losing 39p to £15.26½; Thomas Cook Group (TCG) lost 2½p to 85¼p. The sell-off created opportunities. BGEO Group (BGEO), the largest bank in Georgia by assets, got caught up in anxiety around emerging markets, falling 117¼p to £15.93.
TBC Bank Group (TBCG), fell 46p to £16.04, driven by a 2-3% fall in the Georgian currency, the lari, since Friday, which could make it more difficult for people to repay loans to the bank which carries out about 70% of its lending in dollars.
A trade of 11 million shares yesterday in a London-listed antibiotics developer seeking to tap into the demand for treatments for drug-resistant superbugs caught the attention of dealers. The overhang of shares cleared in Motif Bio (MTFB) is expected to lead to a rise in the share price as supply is taken up. Shares closed up ¾p at 32¾p in the nine-year-old company which is navigating regulatory hurdles to get its drug, Iclaprim, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Tempus – Baring Emerging Europe (BEE): Buy. This is not for the faint-hearted but a lot of the bad news is in the price. Gloomy news and share falls could be an attractive buying chance
Tempus – Chemring Group (CHG): Hold. Executives have been cautious but the impact of the explosion remains unknown
