Pound Expected to Fall Against Euro in 2022 on UK Rate Rise Delay, Brexit Risks

The pound should weaken against the euro next year as the Bank of England holds off on raising interest rates and as post-Brexit concerns remerge, Commerzbank says. The market has priced in the first post-pandemic rate rise for early summer 2022 but the BOE will probably wait until the first quarter of 2023 as it should become increasingly clear in the next few months that inflation will ease, Commerzbank's You-Na Park-Heger says. Meanwhile, Brexit risks are still lurking, she says. "Although we no longer weight these so heavily in our forecast, they could come to the fore again as the coronavirus pandemic fades," she says. Commerzbank expects EUR/GBP to rise to 0.88 by December 2022 from 0.8533 currently. 


 
Companies News:

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.

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Takeover Offer for Audioboom Gets 51% of Shareholders Support, Bidder Says

All Active Asset Capital Ltd. said Friday that 50.92% of Audioboom Group PLC shareholders have undertaken or stated their intention to support AAA's takeover of the U.K. podcast company.

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Gresham House Raises GBP42 Mln, More Than Expected

Gresham House PLC said Friday that it has raised around 42 million pounds ($58.1 million) via share issue, more than expected.

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St. Peter Port Capital Expects GBP2.2 Mln in Shareholder Returns, Proposes DeListing

St. Peter Port Capital Ltd. said Friday that it estimates it will be able to return around 2.2 million pounds ($3.0 million) to its shareholders after winding up the company, and proposed cancelling the trading of its shares. 


 
Market Talk:

EasyJet's Unexpected Fundraise Could Be a Defensive Response to Bid

1125 GMT - An undisclosed and rejected bid for easyJet, thought to have been made by Wizz Air, is a move which would make strategic sense for the latter, Bank of America Global Research. Given that both airlines operate an all Airbus fleet, as well as Wizz's ambitions at Gatwick Airport, the move would be logical, the U.S. bank says. BofA adds that easyJet's unexpected GBP1.2 billion rights issue is potentially a defensive response to the offer given its sufficient liquidity position, which will rise to around GBP4.4 billion. "The capital raise bolsters the balance sheet and places easyJet in a stronger position to benefit from a leisure recovery in 2022," it says.

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Aker Carbon Capture's Capital Markets Day Boosts Confidence

1056 GMT - Aker Carbon Capture's capital markets day provided greater confidence in the company's ability to deliver its "10 million tonnes CO2 a year by 2025" growth target, says Citi. "The company continues to establish key partnerships with customers and industrial partners as the carbon capture and storage market develops, while its new service model should drive higher market share for its capture technology." The development of storage hubs remains key to facilitate the sanction of new capture projects with U.K. projects a near-term focus, it adds.

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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."

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

09-10-21 0931ET