Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) mega-merger gets thumbs up. Deal will provide financial muscle to take on rivals, says Sainsbury’s top investor. Martin Walker, UK equities fund manager at Invesco Perpetual, the third largest shareholder in Sainsbury, said that Mike Coupe, the boss of Sainsbury’s, was putting his job and reputation on the line for a merger that offered “huge” financial benefits.
Stockpickers make way for rise of artificial intelligence. When human beings falter, try a machine. That seems to be the approach at Standard Life Aberdeen (SLA), which is turning to artificial intelligence to run a new investment fund that it hopes will grow into a $10 billion blockbuster.
uses record dividend to win over investors. The Anglo-Australian mining group, which has been battling against criticism led by Elliott, the activist investment group, said that shareholders remained nervous after its “ terrible investment” in the American shale oil industry, which had left it nearly $20 billion worse off.
Wood Group (John) (WG.) on a roll as US shale oil fuels growth. A first-half loss was brushed aside by Wood Group yesterday as the engineering and oilfield services business pointed to improving market conditions, higher cost savings targets and a six-month performance that was better than expected.
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) rivals wake up to potential value of Horlicks. First-round bids are being sought by the middle of next month by Glaxosmithkline for its consumer nutrition business, which includes the Horlicks hot drink brand outside the UK. Europe’s biggest drugs company put the business up for sale in March as it seeks to finance a $13 billion acquisition of the remaining stake in its wider consumer joint venture with Novartis.
The world’s largest provider of serviced offices will launch a private members’ club at the redeveloped Battersea Power Station as it looks to counter growing competition. IWG (IWG) will take 40,000 sq ft over two floors at the renovated grade II* listed power station on the southern bank of the River Thames. It will sit next door to Apple, which agreed to take six floors of Battersea’s former boiler house in 2016.
Help to Buy keeps profit rolling in for first-time specialist Persimmon (PSN). Britain’s second largest housebuilder has shrugged off worries about a slowdown in the property market to report a 13% rise in profits.
Second-hand gadgets are a tough game to be in. The gaming products retailer in which Mike Ashley’s has a near-26% has warned that its profit margins are being held back by a competitive second-hand market. Game Digital (GMD) said that its gross transaction value, a measure of sales, for the year to July 28 had increased by 1.8% to £907.2 million, with a fall of 1.6% in the second half, to £320.4 million.
Hands-on Mike Ashley in House of Fraser supply talks. Mike Ashley held crisis talks with XPO Logistics yesterday in an attempt to end a stand-off at two warehouses that supply House of Fraser. The billionaire founder of , which now owns House of Fraser, attended a meeting at a warehouse in Wellingborough, arriving in his black Bentley.
Existing investors steer clear of Countrywide (CWD). The embattled estate agency group said that its latest share placing, as part of a £140 million emergency fundraising, had fallen short on initial take-up. Shortly after that setback came another in the form of a 7% drop in the share price to 13½p.
Wood Group (John) (WG.) led the mid-cap gainers after it hit the upper end of its forecasts for first-half profit.
Aggreko (AGK) rose 39¾p to 882p after HSBC upgraded the temporary power provider to “buy” from “hold” and increased its target price to £10.50 from 740p. The broker said that the company’s supply chain was showing signs of recovery.
Metro Bank (MTRO) fell 92p to £28.92 after Panmure Gordon reduced its target price from £30.50 to £26.50, citing the surprise £300 million equity-raising announced during the bank’s first-half results as a concern for profitability. “Although we think that Metro Bank will succeed in disrupting high street banks, the investment case is complicated due to further expected capital raises,” the broker said.
Vectura Group (VEC) rose 1½p to 79½p after it said that it had completed two successful studies for the use of its mouthpiece inhalation system used in the treatment of children who suffer from asthma. Vectura’s product, VR647, is designed to fill a gap in the market for approved treatment options for children under 5 years of age.
Tekmar Group (TGP) rose by 6.5% after it said that it had acquired a Darlington-based designer and maker of equipment such as subsea pipeline repair clamps. The £4 million acquisition of Subsea Innovation represents Tekmar’s first deal since it listed on Aim in June last year.
Hostelworld Group (HSW) is feeling the heat. A rise in the number of staycations because of this summer’s heatwave and the football World Cup knocked sales at Hostelworld, the chief executive of the online booking group has admitted.
Tempus – Persimmon (PSN), Barratt Developments (BDEV), Bellway (BWY), Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG). , Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST), Taylor Wimpey (TW.), Telford Homes (TEF): Dividends are safe as houses (for now). There is something that sticks in the throat about a commercial sector that is thriving thanks to life support provided by government. From an investment point of view, though, this profits crutch and generous dividends all but guaranteed for the next two years make owning the shares virtually a no-brainer. Buy. The government’s Help to Buy scheme will support profits — and bumper dividends — for at least the next three years
Tempus – Purplebricks Group (PURP), OnTheMarket plc (OTMP), Rightmove (RMV), ZPG Plc (ZPLA), Unite Group (UTG), Safestore Holdings (SAFE) – Hot properties now come in all shapes and sizes. If you’re looking for investment opportunities in the housing and property market, why confine your interest to companies that merely build new homes?There are estate agents, providers of rented accommodation for university students, even companies that rent out the space for the “stuff” we can’t find room for or need to store while we move to a new place.
