BT Group (BT.A) has sold its London base next to St Paul’s Cathedral for £210million. The deal comes as the telecoms giant overhauls its property portfolio, with plans to shut 90% of offices across the UK and move staff into bigger so-called hubs. The group has been based at BT Centre since being privatised in 1984. But the building has now been sold to Orion European Real Estate Fund for £209.6million, with BT leasing back the site for 30 months while it finds a new home. The deal does not affect BT Tower, a 627ft landmark in central London which is used as a communications hub. Details of its new headquarters will be announced shortly, BT said.
Toxic developer Persimmon (PSN) was branded ‘crooks, cowboys and con artists’ as yet another scandal unfolded over its shoddily built homes. Persimmon was attacked in Parliament after a block of its flats was found to be riddled with damp, causing misery for families. Robert Halfon, Tory MP for Harlow, said he was horrified by the conditions endured by some of his constituents. During Prime Minister’s Questions he said: ‘Homes built by Persimmon… are shoddily built with severe damp and crumbling walls. In the eyes of my residents, Persimmon are crooks, cowboys and con artists.’ In response, Prime Minister Theresa May said: ‘We expect all developers to build their homes to a good quality standard. These are homes that people will be living in for many years and they deserve those standards.’
De La Rue (DLAR) has hit back at an activist investor who wants to oust its chairman amid an escalating row about the future of the beleaguered business. The troubled company, which lost the contract to produce Britain’s blue post-Brexit passports in a humiliating defeat last year, urged shareholders to reappoint its chairman Philip Rogerson at its annual meeting next week. De La Rue’s plea comes as Crystal Amber, the activist fund which owns a 6.3% stake, threatened to call a fresh shareholder vote on Rogerson’s future if he does not step down by next Thursday. The banknote firm said: ‘This precipitous and destabilising Crystal Amber proposal is very clearly not in the best interests of the company. ‘De La Rue already has in place, and is progressing at pace, an orderly succession plan. ‘In stark contrast to the Crystal Amber proposal, this plan helps ensure vital senior leadership continuity, at a time of significant and necessary change in the business.’
Shares in Saga (SAGA) surged 13% after it was revealed that activist hedge fund Elliott Management has bought a stake. The move by Elliott, run by ruthless Wall Street billionaire Paul Singer, could herald a campaign for major changes in the troubled British insurance and travel group. Elliott’s 5.1% stake emerged after Saga shares hit all-time lows last month, when bosses warned it was being pummelled by tough competition. The hedge fund is known for tough tactics to force through changes at companies it believes are underperforming. It famously had one of Argentina’s naval ships seized after the Government allowed debt payments to lapse.
Britain’s biggest bookmaker GVC Holdings (GVC) saw its income from high street betting shops tumble by nearly a fifth after a recent Government crackdown slowed down the takings from its fixed-odds betting terminals. The Ladbrokes and Coral owner said UK retail revenue dropped 19% in the last three months – driven by a 39% plunge in machine sales. However, the firm said the UK hit was not as bad as feared as it was offset by a surge in online sales and international growth. Overall, GVC’s gaming revenues rose 3% in the quarter, and 5% in the first half. Boss Kenneth Alexander said: ‘The transition to a post-£2 stakes-cut environment in UK retail is progressing very well and we believe the Ladbrokes Coral estate is best placed to take market share.’
Luxury confectioner Hotel Chocolat Group (HOTC) has hailed a Willy Wonka-esque pace of innovation that helped drive a 14% sales rise over the last year. Boss Angus Thirlwell – who co-founded the firm in 2004 – said that the key to the British chocolatier’s success will be ‘relentless’ innovation to constantly create new products and services. He added that its new lines for summer, including a vegan chocolate lolly, were garnering a lot of attention on Instagram. He said: We are seeing the most prolific new product Instagramming in our history, with Billionaire’s Sundaes, Choc Shakes and Vegan Chocolate-Dipped Lollies generating lots of excitement’. The opening of 16 new stores contributed 5% to the sales rise.
Mining minnow Premier African Minerals Ltd (PREM) rocketed after it announced the Zimbabwean government has deemed its RHA tungsten mine a priority project. The country’s electricity company, Zesa, has started to upgrade the mine and carry out repair works. Premier is trying to restart production at the site, which was mined at various times during the 20th century. It has ploughed £14million into the project so far.
Chemicals maker Johnson Matthey (JMAT) was the biggest faller, down 183p, at 3204p, after it lowered the profit outlook for its biggest unit, which makes pollution filters for cars and trucks.
Galliford Try (GFRD) put the market at ease yesterday when it said it expects profits for the year to be in line with expectations – a reassuring note from a firm that issued a warning about profits in April and rejected a bid from Bovis Homes for one of its units soon after.
Rolex seller Watches of Switzerland (WOSG) reported a near-trebling of its profit to £20.1million and 23% rise in group revenue to £773.5million in the year to April 28. Shares rose 3p, to 293p, after it unleashed its maiden results less than two months since floating in London.
Emmerson (EML) rose 0.03p, to 3.85p, after Stagecoach co-founder Dame Ann Gloag increased her stake to 3%. The potash mining firm’s project in Morocco is not in production yet but the US-China trade spat has made it more attractive as countries are now trying to wean themselves off the need to buy agricultural products from the US, and are turning to places such as Brazil to make up the shortfall. Emmerson’s site is in a good spot for transatlantic trade.
It was a turbulent day for North Sea drilling firms Hurricane Energy (HUR) and Premier Oil (PMO). Hurricane’s stock dropped 3.5p, to 47p, after its biggest shareholder, Kerogen Capital, sold about a quarter of its stake. And Premier Oil fell by 2.66p, to 78.3p, despite a robust trading update that said its operating costs had been less than expected during the first half –meaning profits will be higher.
