Schroders (SDR) considering board seat for daughter Leonie Fane. Schroders is considering putting the daughter of Bruno Schroder on its board when the City grandee stands down despite her lack of experience in financial services.
Cambian Group (CMBN) has reached a deal to be acquired by CareTech Holding (CTH) which values Cambian at 200p a share on a cash and shares basis (£372 million) or 190p on a cash-only alternative, worth £354 million. The terms are below the initial 220p cash-and-shares and 200p cash approach initially made last month.
Mike Ashley’s has decided to cancel and refund all House of Fraser online orders that have not been sent as its row over payment terms with XPO Logistics worsened yesterday.
Pools and barbecues at B&Q have Kingfisher (KGF) flying higher. Europe’s second-largest home improvement retailer said that like-for-like sales jumped 4.2% in the UK and Ireland, rising 3.6% at B&Q and 5.5% at Screwfix, which caters for professional builders.
Faroe Petroleum (FPM) angry at ‘self-serving’ DNO board bid. Faroe Petroleum has accused DNO of trying to acquire it on the cheap after the Norwegian company tried to claim two seats on its board.
Rank Group (RNK) – Britain’s largest casino chain and the operator behind Mecca Bingo blamed lucky high-spending gamblers, snow and sunshine as it reported a 41 per cent drop in profits.
HSBC Holdings (HSBA) has become the latest bank to say it will raise interest rates on some savings accounts, although it will do so by 0.1 percentage points for most. The Bank of England raised the base rate this month by 0.25%
Kaz Minerals (KAZ) is to pay its first dividend in six years as the Kazakhstan-focused copper miner seeks to placate investors disgruntled at its $900 million move into Russia.
Takeover panel confirms £14 ruling on Disney bid for Sky (SKY). The Takeover Panel, which oversees takeovers of UK-listed companies and must ensure all shareholders are treated equally in a bid battle, said yesterday that after various appeals it was upholding its previous decision to set a “floor” of £14 a share for a possible mandatory Disney offer for Sky.
On The Beach Group (OTB) has snapped up Classic Collection Holidays for £20 million. In its first foray outside the digital world, On the Beach is hoping to access a part of the market where customers buy luxury beach-break packages through third parties such as travel agencies.
Cobham (COB) inquiry over. The FCA has dropped its investigation into Cobham’s handling of inside information ahead of a £500 million rights issue last year.
Countrywide (CWD) pay row. Troubled estate agency group Countrywide is facing a shareholder revolt over plans for three top executives to receive more than £20 million as part of a £140 million rescue package.
Drax Group (DRX) – The FTSE 250 energy giant that is switching from burning coal to renewable biomass, has been in demand after receiving a boost from government subsidies.
Online Blockchain (OBC) was out of favour yesterday after announcing a deal to buy part of a US gaming start-up. In a sign that investors’ excitement over the mention of blockchain may be waning, the shares fell by 6½p to 38p after it said it was paying $100,000 for a 35% interest in Encryptid Gaming.
On The Beach Group (OTB) said that its full-year pre-tax profits would be broadly in line with expectations even though the hot summer reduced demand for holidays abroad.
Reports of Amazon planning to launch a UK price comparison website sent Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) to the bottom of the mid-cap index.
Summit Therapeutics (SUMM) was on the ascent after it announced an additional $12 million investment from the US health department to support its development of ridinilazole, an antibiotic treatment for Clostridium difficile, a bowel infection.
Frontier Developments (FDEV) rebounded as fears eased over regulations in China eased. Gaming stocks fell after that announcement, with Frontier down 67p at 958p. However, an argument that China’s regulatory approval slowdown would not be permanent, began to win over investors, sending the shares up 47p to £10.05.
Tempus ( Prudential (PRU), Aviva (AV.), Legal & General Group (LGEN), Old Mutual (OML), RSA Insurance Group (RSA), Admiral Group (ADM), Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG), Moneysupermarket.com Group (MONY) – Outlook: Neutral. Financial results are mixed because of the weather but underlying trends are solid and the outlook for motor premiums is better than expected:- Insurers – Amazon’s next big disruption could be to the insurance market but it has not worried investors in traditional insurers. This is because the UK’s insurance sector has already been resoundingly disrupted. More than 66% of motor insurance is distributed through price comparison websites, up from just 20% a few years ago, while almost 60% of home insurance is sold through websites such as Gocompare.com Group (GOCO) and Comparethemarket.
Tempus – Marshalls (MSLH): Buy. Strong commercial and public sector demand is helping the sun to shine
