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Business Live: Berkeley’s housing market in crisis; CMA supported aviation surveillance; TRG chair will be left
The FTSE 100 is down 0.5 percent in early trading. Companies with reports and trading updates today include Berkeley Group, The Restaurant Group, Heathrow, Computecentre and Harland & Wolff. Read the Business Live blog below.
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Berkeley maintains hope despite housing market weakness
The Berkeley Group has maintained its annual profit guidance despite a decline in the value of domestic reservations in recent months.
The blue-chip listed housebuilder is forecast to make at least £1.05 billion in pre-tax profit for this year and next, compared with £604 million for the 12 months ending April 2023.
Berkley told investors on Friday that with more than 90 percent of the exchange traded for the 2024 fiscal year, weak trading conditions have been slightly offset by solid early forward selling conditions.
How the cost of living crisis is forcing Britons to sell their cars
More than 2.8 million Britons have been forced to sell their cars to cope with the pressures of the cost-of-living crisis, a study has claimed.
11 per cent of Britons have been forced to sell their motors due to rising energy, rent, food and car costs such as MOTs and petrol, according to a new survey by Motorways.
Standard Life launches annuity as rates recover
Standard Life has launched an annuity deal after a strong improvement in retirement income has prompted many old savers to give them another look.
It would offer a 65-year-old with a £100,000 pension pot living on around £7,000 a year in a middle band postcode, with no guarantee period or inflation protection after purchase.
Fears of global recession have increased due to recession in China and Germany.
Storm clouds are looming over the global economy amid growing fears over China and Europe – and Germany in particular.
Official data published in Beijing yesterday showed that exports from China – often seen as the world’s workshop – were down 8.8 per cent in August compared with the same month last year.
New investment vehicle giving shareholders access to Lloyd’s of London
A London-listed special purpose acquisition company has moved closer to launching a vehicle designed to give investors access to the Lloyd’s of London insurance market.
Financial Acquisitions Corp said this morning it has set up London Innovation Underwriters Ltd (LIU) as part of a plan to deploy funds into the historical insurance market and build a reinsurance book with capacity up to £1bn.
The statement said the SPAC intends to combine with LIU and raise a ‘significant amount’ of equity capital on the London Stock Exchange, with a further statement to be made after the combination is entered into.
Berkeley’s London office could be its trump card
Arin Chikri, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:
‘It appears that the recent rise in interest rates is driving up mortgage costs, leading to a lack of urgency among new buyers as private sale reservations have fallen by 35 per cent.
‘However, pricing remains flexible due to the limited supply of new-build and second-hand homes, giving Berkeley the confidence to reiterate its guidance for £1.05 billion of pre-tax profit over the coming two financial years , which is slightly higher than the current one. Year. This represents a decline of approximately 10 percent over consecutive years.
‘In the meantime, Berkeley is taking action to protect its financial resilience by carefully matching its supply with demand and completely stopping spending on new plots of land. Net cash at the end of October is expected to be £325 million, down nearly 20 per cent from April, but should be enough to help offset the impact of lower sales in the near term.
‘Looking at the bigger picture, Berkeley’s London focus offers something different to peers, and demand in the capital is likely to remain stronger than in other areas of the country.
‘Add to the mix that the UK housing market is suffering from a basic supply shortage, and the long-term picture doesn’t look so bleak. But in the short term, there are plenty of storm clouds in store for Berkeley’s weather.’
Markets open: FTSE 100 up 0.3%; FTSE 250 adds 0.2%
London-listed stocks are trading higher this morning as rising US bond yields and lower crude oil prices provide some relief to investors at the end of a tough week for global markets.
Global stock markets have come under pressure this week as a surge in oil prices raised concerns about persistent price pressures and US economic data raised concerns that interest rates will remain high for a long time, although other countries in the world The figures coming from various places have disappointed.
Oil prices have fallen about 0.5 percent so far today as US yields declined.
Berkeley Group shares fell 0.1 percent after the house-builder joined sector peers in highlighting the gloomy trading environment due to rising interest rates and broader macroeconomic concerns.
Smurfit plans £15bn merger with US rival WestRock
London’s stock market suffered a new blow when Smurfit Kappa announced plans to merge with an American rival.
The FTSE 100 packaging giant, which is headquartered in Dublin, is in ‘advanced talks’ with Georgia-based WestRock about a £15bn mega-deal.
Alchemy Copyrights to buy Round Hill Music Royalty Fund for $468.8 million
Alchemy Copyrights has agreed to buy music copyright-focused investment firm Round Hill Music Royalty Fund for about $468.8 million, giving it access to songs including the Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’.
Round Hill Music shareholders will receive $1.15 in cash per Scheme share, representing about a 67 percent premium over the stock’s closing price on Thursday.
Alchemy Copyrights, doing business as Concord, is an acquirer of music rights and companies, including recorded music, music publishing and theatrical performances.
Round Hill Music’s music rights portfolio includes 51 catalogs with a collection of over 150,000 songs, including The Beatles’ ‘She Loves You’.
Vet firm’s shares fall as pet price probe sinks
Shares in Britain’s major listed vet companies fell after regulators launched an investigation into pricing.
The Competition and Markets Authority is investigating whether the cost of veterinary services is justified after concerns that price rises are exceeding inflation.
Pets at Home shares fell more than 9 per cent to close at 343.2p, knocking £169m off its market capitalisation.
TRG chair will be left
Ken Hanna, chairman of the restaurant group that owns Wagamama, is to step down after months of pressure from activist investors to change its management and improve profitability.
Hanna, who took over as chair of the group in early January 2022, will remain its chair until a successor is appointed.
He also held the roles of chairman at car dealer Inchcape and equipment rental firm Aggreko.
The restaurant group has come under fire from activist shareholders Oasis Management and Irenic Capital Management demanding changes to the management company, whose shares lost two-thirds of their value last year.
Melrose chiefs hail GKN deal as they depart five years after controversial £8bn takeover
Melrose boss Simon Peckham claimed his controversial takeover of GKN helped create the British ‘aerospace champion’ – as he announced plans to step down.
Peckham said the £8bn buyout of the historic manufacturer five years ago had rejuvenated ‘Britain’s fading industrial image’.
However, he did not rule out the business being sold, raising the possibility of a foreign takeover.
CMA supports aviation watchdog over Heathrow pricing dispute
Britain’s competition regulator has said it is temporarily supporting the Civil Aviation Authority in most of its decisions on how much Heathrow Airport can charge airlines over the period 2024-2026, pending the launch of appeals by both airlines and the airport. After.
The competition and markets authority, CMA, moved to review the CAA’s decision after proposed fee cuts for the next three years angered both parties.
Britain’s Heathrow said lower fees would hurt investment, while airlines British Airways and Virgin Atlantic said the cuts were not enough.
The CMA now has until October 17 to decide whether to accept or reject the appeal, the CMA said in its statement on Friday.
‘Overall, we provisionally believe that the CAA was not wrong in most of the decisions we appeal,’ the CMA said.
Crackdown on ‘Wild West’ cryptocurrency industry is delayed
There has been a delay in taking action on cryptocurrencies.
The Financial Conduct Authority said stricter rules regarding crypto marketing will come into force next month, but companies can apply for more time, such as a 24-hour cooling-off period, to comply with the rules.
It says that companies can be given time till January 8. The rules were to come into effect from October 8.
Berkeley highlights housing market problems
Berkley Group has joined sector peers in highlighting the gloomy trading environment due to rising interest rates and broader macroeconomic concerns, but the high-end housebuilder maintained its profit guidance.
The FTSE 100 builder has reported a 35 per cent fall in underlying private sale reservations in the first four months of its current financial year, which started on May 1.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
