Jaguar puts workers on three-day week. One thousand Jaguar workers in the West Midlands are to be put on a three-day week as it cuts production in the face of falling sales. The news comes just days after Ralf Speth, chief executive of parent company Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), issued his strongest warning yet about the impact of a cliff-edge Brexit, saying it would cost his company £1.2 billion and lead to tens of thousands of job losses. He indicated the group would have to divert production to low-cost manufacturing plants in eastern Europe.
Associated British Foods (ABF) – Boohoo raids Primark for new boss with £50m bait. A senior Primark executive has been recruited by Boohoo.com (BOO), which has promised him a £50 million bonus if he delivers a significant boost to the share price within the next five years. John Lyttle is leaving his role as chief operating officer of Primark to take over the day-to-day running of Boohoo from its founders Mahmud Kamani and Carol Kane in a significant reorganisation of the Aim-listed online fashion retailer.
Drax Group (DRX) – Old king coal is back as gas costs rise. High gas prices have triggered a resurgence in electricity generation from coal as it becomes the cheaper option. Britain could see its first increase in carbon emissions in six years if coal-fired power plants continue to undercut gas ones, according to Imperial College London. Coal plants were the biggest source of electricity as recently as 2013 but their share of the energy mix fell precipitously and they supplied less than 7% of UK power last year.
South Koreans are City’s new big spenders on office property. Investment from Asia is pouring into the City of London property market, with the amount spent on office blocks by South Koreans about to reach a record high. They are expected to have invested £3 billion by the end of this year, according to Savills (SVS), the property consultancy, making them the largest foreign buyers. The National Pension Service of Korea, the third largest public pension fund in the world, has already made the biggest property transaction this year of any buyer.
Aviva joins opposition to Unilever exit. Another leading shareholder in Unilever (ULVR) has hit out at the consumer group’s plan to relinquish its London headquarters and reorganise its corporate structure as opposition continues to mount before a key vote next month. David Cumming, chief investment officer at Aviva Investors, said that it would be voting against the maker of Marmite’s plan to have its headquarters in Rotterdam.
Closure of bakery eats into profits at Finsbury Food Group. The closure of its London bakery business after a sharp increase in the price of butter has driven down profits by two thirds at Finsbury Food Group (FIF), the manufacturer of Mary Berry-branded cakes. Finsbury shut its Grain D’Or bakery in London, which made bread and pastries for supermarkets and employed 250 people, last October. It cited an almost threefold increase in the price of butter, which had compounded problems in the business.
‘Take or pay’ deal on Sirius potash mine. Sirius Minerals (SXX) has bought a £26 million stake in a Brazilian fertiliser company in return for an agreement to buy output from its Yorkshire potash mine. Cibra, the sixth largest fertiliser distributor in Brazil, has signed a seven-year deal to market Sirius’s polyhalite fertiliser in several South American countries. Under the “take or pay” agreement, Cibra is committed to buying undisclosed volumes from the North York Moors mine in the first six years of production, rising to 2.5 million tonnes in the seventh year.
Vodafone seeks investors for 50,000 masts. Vodafone Group (VOD) is considering offloading more than 50,000 mobile phone masts to reduce its debt pile, its new chief executive has revealed. Nick Read, who will succeed Vittorio Colao next month, said that it could sell a stake in its European towers business. He added that he was also considering “a potential IPO in New Zealand”. Vodafone’s market value has fallen by a quarter since January as a result of fierce competition in Italy and Spain and pressures on its Egyptian and Turkish businesses.
Former HSBC chief to chair tech group. Sir Douglas Flint has been appointed chairman of IP Group (IPO), the FTSE 250 technology commercialisation company, in his first board role at a listed company since stepping down from HSBC a year ago. Sir Douglas, 63, one of Britain’s most senior business leaders, will take up the role from November, replacing Mike Humphrey, whose departure was announced in May.
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) chief executive is to step down from the company after a torrid couple of years in which its share price has slumped. Johan Dippenaar, who has led the South Africa-focused miner since 2005, will go once a successor is found. Petra has interests in four diamond mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania. Its shares have fallen from more than 170p less than two years ago to below 35p last week after it was hit by a issues including delays to its South African mines and the confiscation of a consignment of diamonds by the Tanzanian government.
Britain a bright spot in European bank gloom. On the London market yesterday RBS and Lloyds Banking Group were prominent among the risers. Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) shares ended the trading session up 4p at 250p, while Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY), which recently completed a £1 billion share buyback, closed up ½p at 59¼p. The rises among the bank shares were outshone by advances among utility stocks, SSE (SSE) was the standout riser, closing up 38½p at £11.22½, as the energy supplier’s shares began to claw back some of their losses. Another utility company on the rise was Centrica (CNA), which ended up 2¼p at 145½p. Leading the fallers was GVC Holdings (GVC), with shares in the gambling operator dropping 36p to 995p.
Shares in ITV (ITV) had been one of the bigger losers in early trading after it emerged at the weekend that the broadcaster may bid for Endemol Shine, the TV producer behind programmes such as Big Brother and Masterchef. The stock later rallied, athough it closed down 1¾p at 158p.
The FTSE 250 barely moved, closing down 1.48 points at 20,374.39. Leading the risers was Sirius Minerals (SXX), which was boosted after the mining company said it had signed a supply deal with Cibra Group covering Brazil and other South American countries.
Rank Group (RNK) was another prominent gainer, helped by analysts at Canaccord maintaining their price target for the gambling company’s shares.
Sophos Group (SOPH) was one of the biggest FTSE 250 losers, after analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded the security software company’s shares.
Dealers were watching Ryanair Holdings (RYA) after the activist investor Harris Associates raised its stake.
Activist raises Horizon holding. An American activist investor has increased its stake in Horizon Discovery Group (HZD), the Aim-quoted biotech company. Value Act has upped its holding in Horizon to nearly 10%, making it one of the gene editing company’s biggest shareholders, having bought shares from Neil Woodford’s investment firm, which remains Horizon’s largest shareholder. Value Act first emerged on Horizon’s shareholder register this month and the fund is in talks to appoint a representative to the company’s board.
Tempus – Dairy Crest Group (DCG): Avoid. The shares have been disappointing and it’s hard to see that changing soon
Tempus – MJ Gleeson (GLE): Buy. Efficient, resilient, attractive business with good long-term growth potential
