Sterling Rises on Prospect of BOE Tightening
The pound makes headway against the dollar and the euro, with GBP/USD rising 0.3% to a one-week high of 1.3886 and EUR/GBP falling 0.2% to 0.8533, according to FactSet. Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey's remarks Wednesday, that he in the camp that deems minimum conditions for considering an interest rate rise have been met, "seem to be resonating," ING analysts say. "Today's July GDP data was slightly disappointing, however, and on balance we see nothing to take EUR/GBP out of a well-worn 0.8500-0.8600 trading range," the analysts say. The U.K. economy expanded by 0.1% month-on-month in July after 1.0% growth in June, according to the Office for National Statistics. Economists polled by the WSJ had expected 0.5% growth.
Companies News:
Tritax EuroBox to Raise GBP170 Mln to Fund Acquisition of Logistics Assets
Tritax EuroBox PLC said Friday that it is raising 170 million pounds ($235.2 million) via share issue to acquire logistics assets in continental Europe.
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Newmark Security Swung to a FY 2021 Pretax Loss
Newmark Security PLC reported Friday a swing to a pretax loss for fiscal 2021 due to the effects of Covid-19, but said that the company is set up for growth and is expecting to show a rise in revenue in the coming year.
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Minds + Machines to Return $80 Mln in Premium-Priced Tender Offer for Shares
Minds + Machines Group Ltd. said Friday that it would return up to 58 million pounds ($80.2 million) to shareholders via a premium-priced tender offer for shares.
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Gresham House to Raise GBP40 Mln for Acquisition, Projects Development
Gresham House PLC said Friday that it will raise around 40 million pounds ($55.3 million) through a placing conducted through an accelerated book-build process, and that it will use the net proceeds to fund an acquisition and other development projects.
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Gresham House Swung to 1H Operating Pretax Profit
Gresham House PLC said Friday that it swung to an operating pretax profit for the first half as total income increased, and that it was well set to achieve its priorities for 2021.
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Fulham Shore Says Recent Performance Has Been Strong, Ahead of Pre-Covid-19 Levels
Fulham Shore PLC said Friday that revenue continued to grow in the three weeks ended Sept. 5 since it published its fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2022 performance on Aug. 17.
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Target Healthcare REIT Raises GBP125 Mln in Share Issue
Target Healthcare REIT PLC said Friday that it has successfully raised 125 million pounds ($172.9 million) through a share issue.
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City of London Group FY 2021 Pretax Loss Widened
City of London Group PLC said on Friday that its pretax loss for fiscal 2021 widened, and that it expects Recognise Bank Ltd.--its medium-sized enterprise lending business--to be granted a full U.K. banking license after capital adequacy requirements are met.
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BioPharma Credit to Apply for Admission to Listing on LSE Main Market's Premium Segment
BioPharma Credit PLC on Friday said that it intends to apply for admission of its ordinary shares to listing on the premium segment of the Official List, and the transfer of the admission to trading of the shares from the specialist-fund segment to the premium segment of the London Stock Exchange's main market.
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Ross Group Raises GBP367,529 in Share Placing
Ross Group PLC said Friday that it has raised 367,529 pounds ($508,513) in a share placing.
Market Talk:
Just Eat Looks to Be Arriving Too Late to Grocery Delivery
1008 GMT - Just Eat Takeaway's recent change of heart about grocery delivery is welcome but might be too late, Bryan Garnier says. The owner of the8 Just Eat and Grubhub brands has few large supermarket partners and only recently began testing "dark stores"--retail sites used for delivery--in Canada, Bryan Garnier says. The company's focus on profitability constrains plans for a large dark-store rollout across its geographies before 2023, unless it chooses to use its M&A firepower of around EUR700 million, the investment bank says. "The lack of a comprehensive grocery offer on JET's platform may lead to a deteriorated platform utility and market share losses going forward in many countries in favor of Delivery Hero, Uber Eats, Deliveroo and DoorDash," it says.
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UK Economic Recovery Seen Slowing Down With Challenges Ahead
1002 GMT - The U.K.'s economic growth seems set for a more subdued trajectory in the months ahead, according to survey and high-frequency data, Citi says. The U.K. economy is unlikely to reach its pre-pandemic size this quarter, and a marked gap in activity is likely to persist when income support is dialed down, the bank says. "Despite widely reported signs of labor shortages in some sectors, a smaller economy will struggle to provide employment for the still 1.6 million people furloughed at the end July as well as the 300,000 extra unemployed since the pandemic," Citi says. The risks to the Bank of England's 3% growth forecast for 3Q and assumptions of smooth return to full employment remain to the downside, Citi says.
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Gresham House Shows Good Strategic Progress
0916 GMT - Although London-listed asset manager Gresham House is clearly well ahead of its strategic schedule, its growth potential appears underappreciated by the market, Jefferies says. Its 1H results show good progress toward strategic goals, with assets under management added so far in 2H taking the total to GBP5.4 billion, the U.S. bank says. Furthermore, should its GBP400 million Australian forestry deal and the GBP370 million from the Moebus acquisition close this year, its GBP6 billion 2025 AUM target will probably be reset, the bank says. Although the market appears not to have factored the 1H success, there are more catalysts to come, Jefferies says. "We would expect the 1H results and events since June 30 to drive consensus upgrades," it says.
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Diversified Energy's Entry Into US Central Region Expands Growth Potential
0851 GMT - Diversified Energy Company this year closed three acquisitions for $341 million in the central region of the U.S., which materially increases the chance of further M&A for the oil-and-gas producer, Peel Hunt says. This is because the size of the region is material, average well life exceeds ten years, production is gas-biased and has fragmented operatorship, the brokerage says as it starts coverage of DEC with a buy rating and a 160 pence target price. As for the core Appalachian portfolio, Peel Hunt says production entails low risk, low decline rates and low operational costs. "We see the recent share price pull-back as an attractive entry point, with the shares trading at an 11% dividend yield and 35% discount to our Core NAV of 168p."
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Lloyds Share Price Could Rise on Additional Share Buybacks
0836 GMT - Lloyds's share price could rise if the lender launches a share buyback program, Jefferies says. The FTSE 100 bank's shares haven't improved post 2Q, Jefferies says. Lloyds could launch a GBP2 billion share buyback program when it publishes its full-year results, it says. Lloyds could also add buybacks of GBP3.1 billion in 2022 and 2023, Jefferies says. The U.S. bank leaves its pretax profit forecast on Lloyds 40% ahead of market expectations for the second half of 2022. Jefferies's earnings estimates for 2022 and 2023 are 20% above consensus. Jefferies has a price target of 57 pence and reiterates its buy recommendation on the stock.
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Purplebricks' Market Share Losses Are Now Priced In, UBS Says
0835 GMT - Purplebricks' share price is now pricing in market share losses, UBS says as it upgrades the U.K. online estate agent to neutral from sell. At this valuation, risk/reward is balanced, and upside exists if Purplebricks can deliver its targets to gain a 10% market share, the Swiss bank says. However, UBS warns the first-half results can be a negative catalyst, and cuts the target price to 64 pence from 78 pence on lower earnings forecasts. "We expect the company to report a significant yoy decline in instructions (c-30%) driven by a tough comp, weak market share trends, and a lack of new instructions in the market overall."
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Ashmore's Weak Investment Performance Seen Hurting Inflows Over Coming Quarters
0825 GMT - Ashmore's investment performance has been weak and the specialist emerging market debt manager faces another year of weak flows, Berenberg says. The company's SICAVs--a collective investment scheme--have been underperforming their benchmarks, and remain 9% below mid-2019 levels, the German brokerage says. This is expected to continue to drag on net inflows over the coming quarters, with fiscal 2022 consensus net flows expected to fall 5 percentage points, driving further underperformance. "This revenue risk is compounded by recent margin disappointment, which alone should drive 3% to 4% EPS downgrades," the brokerage says. Berenberg rates the stock a sell and cuts its target price to 330 pence from 340 pence.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-10-21 0645ET
