Below are the key morning headlines from today’s papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Intu takeover bid collapses amid Brexit volatility fear. The shadow over Britain’s shopping centre owners grew yesterday after a £2.9 billion takeover bid for Intu Properties (INTU) was abandoned. Intu was jilted for the second time this year after the collapse of a proposed deal backed by Brookfield, the Canadian private equity group, to take the FTSE 250 company private. Hundreds of millions of pounds were wiped off the value of commercial property companies after the announcement. Shares in Intu fell by more than 40%, while Hammerson (HMSO), a rival shopping centre owner, and British Land Company (BLND) and Land Securities Group (LAND), which both hold substantial retail property portfolios, fell by 7.6%, 5.8% and 4.9% respectively.
Unilever (ULVR) boss Paul Polman to step down after headquarters fiasco. Unilever’s long-serving boss Paul Polman is retiring just two months after a damaging row with British investors which has threatened the legacy of his decade-long reign at helm of the consumer goods giant. The maker of Dove soap and Magnum ice creams has named company lifer Alan Jope, who currently heads its €21bn (£18bn) personal care business, as Mr Polman’s successor. The appointment of the Scottish-born director has been seen as a move to reassure the City following its headquarters debacle, during which it was argued the UK’s interests had been marginalised by Unilever’s Dutch-leaning international board
Glaxo mulls merger for nutrition unit. Britain’s biggest drugs company is considering a potential merger of its consumer nutrition business. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) said yesterday it was weighing up a potential tie-up for its Indian-listed subsidiary but did not clarify who else might be involved. The statement to the London stock market came after reports Unilever (ULVR) was in talks to acquire the Australian-based business. Reports in India yesterday raised the prospect of Unilever’s unit merging with the Glaxo subsidiary. Glaxo is a FTSE 100 group formed through the 2000 merger of Glaxo Wellcome and Smithkline Beecham, generating group sales of £30.2 billion last year. Sales in its nutrition business fell 5% to £680 million.
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) confirms nose-dive into the red. The extent of Thomas Cook’s “disappointing” 2018 was laid bare on Thursday, with the travel giant swinging sharply into the red and racking up an annual pre-tax loss of £53m. The company has been savaged by the stock markets this week after it issued its second profit warning in two months on Tuesday. Revenue rose 6% to £9.6bn in the year to Sept 30. But profit margins were hit as prices were slashed to entice those booking later this summer. Last year, profit before tax was £43m. More than 70% has been wiped off Thomas Cook’s valuation this year. Shares were steadier on Thursday, falling around 1%
Greene King (GNK) toasts ‘Brexit boredom’. Many of the British public are getting “bored and annoyed” with Brexit and choosing to drown their sorrows down the pub, the boss of Greene King has said. Speaking as the Bury St Edmunds brewer outperformed market expectations with half-year like-for-like sales growth of 2.7%, chief executive Rooney Anand said: “I do think it is an enduring quality of the great British public that after a while we do get a bit hacked off with things and say: ‘Sod it, let’s go to the pub’. And if that is what is going on, bring it on.” Boosted by a summer of record temperatures and England’s unexpected success at football’s World Cup, Greene King posted a 3.2% rise in pre-tax profits to £127.7m
Dignity (DTY) – Competition and Markets Authority to investigate cost of funerals. The competition regulator is to hold a full market investigation into the funeral industry amid concerns over prices and a lack of transparency for vulnerable customers. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has conducted an initial review of the market over the past six months and said today that it had found problems that have led to above-inflation price rises for “well over” a decade for funeral directors and crematoria services. “The scale of these price rises does not currently appear to be justified by cost increases or quality improvements,” the CMA said. It added that “the full powers of a market investigation”, led by an independent group of panel members, were required “given the nature and significance of the issues”
Drinks firm serves up a fizzing set of figures. Britvic (BVIC) overcame a “turbulent market” for soft drinks in Britain and challenging conditions abroad to deliver growth in revenues, margins and earnings. Simon Litherland, chief executive, said the Pepsi and Robinsons maker had shown resilience despite “numerous headwinds” including the sugar tax, a shortage of carbon dioxide and the impact of “multiple business failures” among its customers. He said the benefits of the summer heatwave on demand for its soft drinks had been “pretty much equalled out” by the shortage of CO2 needed to make fizzy drinks, which particularly hit the brands it makes under licence from Pepsico.
Ashtead Group (AHT) looks to US for new boss as Geoff Drabble stands down after decade at the helm. Geoff Drabble, the boss of plant hire giant Ashtead Group, will retire next year after more than a decade at the helm. Mr Drabble, who has overseen a trebling in Ashtead’s revenues and a four-fold increase in its share price, will stand down as chief executive in May and stay on in an advisory capacity until November. He will be succeeded by Brendan Horgan, who currently runs Ashtead’s US division Sunbelt, reflecting the fact the UK-listed company now does most of its business across the Atlantic. Paul Walker, chairman, said Mr Drabble had “transformed Ashtead into one of the biggest and most successful rental companies in the world”
Timber firm Latham (James) (LTHM) is the latest business to begin stockpile products in case its supply chains are disrupted by Brexit. Investors seemed satisfied with the planning, and with half-year results which revealed revenues had risen 10.2% to £118.2million, while operating profit was up 10% at £7.7million. More customers were also buying its higher-priced products. Though it warned it was still wary of economic uncertainty, the firm’s shares rose 10.4%, or 65p, to 690p.
