Afternoon Financial Press Round-Up
Under-fire Theresa May dealt fresh blow as Brexit wilts economy. More warning lights flashed over the UK economy on Monday as a deluge of data signalled slowing growth in a crucial week for Brexit. The latest official estimates for the economy’s performance revealed a deceleration in the quarter to October as overall output expanded 0.4%. That compared with a much faster 0.6% in the three months to September. The Office for National Statistics data painted a grim picture, with only services keeping the UK from stagnation in October as construction and manufacturing slid into reverse. A 0.2% expansion for the UK’s dominant services firms in the month, accounting for nearly 80% of overall growth, kept the UK just about in expansion territory, growing 0.1%. The latest evidence of a stuttering economy comes amid growing business uncertainty as the country’s EU exit looms closer.
The rout of Interserve’s bombed-out shares intensified on Monday as the firm said restructuring its debt would hammer investors. Shares in the company tanked nearly 60% — down 14.25p to 10.25p — after it admitted that a likely debt-for-equity swap of its £600 million-plus borrowings “could result in material dilution for current shareholders”. Shares in Interserve, whose contracts include back-up services for the Metropolitan Police on demonstrations and ceremonial occasions, have plunged 90% this year.
dishes out special divi after sales jump. The tenpin bowling operator revealed revenues increased 5.8% to £120.5 million in the year to September 30. It saw pretax profits rise 13.4% to £23.9 million and said a special dividend of 4.33p per share will be paid on top of ordinary dividends. That means a proposed £15.9 million return to shareholders for the year. Shares in Hollywood Bowl jumped 18.5p, or more than 10%, to 202p. The company said it benefited from a number of revamps, plus consumers still viewing a trip to centres as affordable- a family of four can bowl for £20. Boss Stephen Burns said Hollywood Bowl is confident of further growth and excited to be opening new branches within big extensions at Intu Properties’ Lakeside and Watford centres this financial year
was the top riser in London after agreeing on a development partnership and licence agreement with South Korea’s LG Group. The AIM-listed developer of Affimer biotherapeutics and reagents said the multi-target therapeutics development agreement provides for upfront and near-term milestone payments, plus longer-term clinical development milestones totalling $180 million
Sterling has dropped to a 17-month low of $1.2662 on reports that tomorrow’s vote in parliament on Theresa May’s Brexit deal may not go ahead. Earlier this morning a spokesman insisted that Mrs May was confident of winning the vote but the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg, tweeted around midday: “Leadsom statement on Commons business expected to follow PM statement this afternoon, which implies they are indeed pulling the vote.” Downing Street said that the prime minister would make a statement to MPs at 3.30pm, having held an emergency cabinet conference call this morning. Andrea Leadsom, leader of the Commons, will speak at 4.30pm. Steve Hawkes, deputy political editor of The Sun, quoted a “well-respected trader” as saying: “It just comes across as a government in crisis.”
City investors call on listed companies to pay living wage. Share Action campaign group has written to firms including and . A group of City investors with assets worth more than £180bn has written to listed firms including Vodafone, Balfour Beatty and urging them to pay all employees a living wage. The chief executives of the utilities firms Severn Trent and , homeware retailer and telecoms firm Vodafone have received letters saying that paying the living wage to all staff and key contractors is the hallmark of a responsible business. Signatories to the letters, coordinated by the Share Action campaign group, include the Strathclyde Pension Fund, which is run by Glasgow city council, Hermes Investment Management and Nest, the state-backed workplace pension scheme. The investors have also targeted construction firms, which are “particularly vulnerable to precarious work and low pay”, Share Action said. Along with Balfour Beatty, the chief executives of , and have received the letters.
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