Afternoon Press Round-Up
Below are the key headlines from today’s updated papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
easyJet boss Johan Lundgren says Brexit will be smooth for airline. The chief executive of on Tuesday pledged there “won’t be any disruption” at his budget airline once Britain leaves the EU, as he gave an update on its Brexit preparations. Johan Lundgren discussed plans alongside revealing that pre-tax profits soared 41% to £578 million in the year to September 30. He told the Standard: “We are prepared for any [Brexit] scenario and are confident that our flights will operate as normal after March 2019.” His FTSE 100 firm expects to increase European ownership of the airline from 47% to over 50% before Britain exits the bloc, which will allow it to comply with ownership rules and continue to operate within the EU.
US medical devices manufacturer Boston Scientific is seeking to buy British pharmaceutical firm for £3.3bn in cash. Boston Scientific has offered a price of 840p per share, a premium of 36.6% to BTG’s Monday closing price of 615p. It represents a 51% premium to BTG’s 90-day average share price for the period ending Nov 19. BTG said it planned to recommend the deal to its shareholders as it considers the terms of the acquisition to be “fair and reasonable”. Shares in the FTSE 250 company rose jumped 34% to 824.50p on the back of the news.
takeover of Wagamama has been dealt a huge blow after its second-biggest investor said it would oppose the £559m deal. Columbia Threadneedle, a near-8% shareholder, warned the acquisition “throws up too many red flags” and said it would vote against the proposal at a general meeting next week. The statement by the fund management titan threatened to overshadow a recommendation by leading proxy adviser Glass Lewis to support the deal. Glass Lewis did, however, say it was “ somewhat concerned that the proposed purchase price appears on the high side”
Canadian TV and film group has suffered a £57m blow to its bottom line as DVD sales decline amid what it called “ongoing evolution” in the industry. The FTSE 250 firm, which is behind the hit cartoon Peppa Pig, swung to a £40.1m pre-tax loss in the six months to Sept 30, compared to a £2.3m profit a year ago, as it impaired some of its film distribution assets and spent money restructuring the business. Revenue fell almost 2% over the period to £404.9m as growth in its family division was offset by a 7% decline in its film and television arm.
The London-listed company owned by industrial tycoon Sanjeev Gupta has sold a stake in its ‘green’ power project to major infrastructure investor Equitix. Shares in jumped 20% after it unveiled the deal to sell 25% of the Uskmouth power plant in Wales for £32.9m in cash. The deal values the coal conversion project at £131.5m, more than twice the company’s market cap. Simec, a subsidiary of Mr Gupta’s £10bn GFG Alliance, is undertaking a major two-year green overhaul of the plant that could eventually value Uskmouth at almost £300m.
A surge in PPI compensation claims driven by an Arnold Schwarzenegger advert and increased activity among claims companies have dragged Virgin Money owner to a loss. CYBG, Britain’s sixth biggest bank, fell to a £145m loss for the year to September after swallowing a £352m hit for Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) costs. The company said the City watchdog’s advert featuring the robotic head of the Terminator star urging people to claim for compensation was partly to blame, as claims management companies also ramped up their efforts to cash in before the August 2019 deadline to log complaints.
has begun stockpiling food and put in place plans to help European workers stay in the UK ahead of the country’s exit from the European Union. Dominic Blakemore, chief executive, said the company, which is the world’s biggest catering firm, had drawn up contingency plans to make sure that it could continue supplying its clients with meals in the event of problems importing goods from Europe. He said Compass was making “sensible increases to our inventories” which would happen “gradually over time”, with trigger points between now and Brexit day on March 29, if the prospect of a no-deal becomes more likely
Shares in sunk by more than 12 per cent in early trading today as weary investors shuddered at the cautious tone struck by the electricals firm. In an otherwise robust set of half-year results, in which it said losses narrowed and sales jumped 10%, the online retailer admitted that it had been plagued by a ‘challenging backdrop’ in its core markets. AO – founded by executive chairman John Roberts in 2000 and best known for its catchy ‘AO, let’s go’ jingle – specialises in white goods, such as fridges and washing machines, as well as laptops and small kitchen appliances.
Buyers circle Ei’s £350m pubs portfolio on the market. The boss of on Tuesday said he has been “encouraged” by the number of investors eyeing a purchase of the pubs giant’s £350 million commercial property arm. Simon Townsend first confirmed in September that Rothschild had been hired to look at auctioning off 376 watering holes it owns the freehold of but does not operate. He today said: “A sale would allow us to concentrate on our core estate. I have been reassured by the level of interest we have received.”
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