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London open: Stocks gain; Blackstone strikes deal for Hipgnosis
London stocks rose in early trade on Monday following another record high at the end of last week.
Europe open: Shares up with eyes on rates; Philips surges on payout relief
European shares opened higher on Monday as investors eyed central bank rate decisions this week, while shares in Philips and Atos were in focus.
Petrofac delays results, says it may need to convert existing debt to equity
Petrofac tumbled on Monday as it announced a delay to the publication of its full-year results and said it may have to convert a significant proportion of its existing debt to equity.
Biome Technologies shares sink as Q1 sales drop 44%
Shares in AIM-listed Biome Technologies plummeted by almost a third on Monday after the bioplastics and radio frequency technology business reported a poor start to the year with first-quarter sales dropping by 44%.
Digital 9 to make additional revolving credit facility repayment
Infrastructure company Digital 9 Infrastructure announced a significant step towards strengthening its financial position on Monday, with the receipt of a deferred consideration payment of $25m (£20m) related to the sale of the Verne Global group, as announced on 15 March.
Oxford Biomedica confident as it moves away from vaccine era
Cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organisation (CDMO) Oxford Biomedica reported stability in its core business on Monday, with a small increase in full-year core revenue for 2023, despite a 36% decrease in total revenue to £89. 5m.
Entain reprices two term loans, revises interest cost outlook
Betting and gambling giant Entain announced the successful repricing of two of its existing ‘Term Loan B’ loans on Monday, along with the pricing and allocation of fungible add-ons, in a bid to optimise its financial position.
N Brown chairman Ron McMillan to retire
N Brown said on Monday that chairman Ron McMillan will be retiring and stepping down from the board with effect from 30 April for personal reasons.
McCarthy out, Adshead in as Ultimate Products chair
Ultimate Products, the parent of homeware brands including Salter and Beldray, announced a change in its leadership on Monday, with James ‘Jim’ McCarthy deciding to step down as non-executive chair from 31 July.
Supermarket Income REIT buys portfolio of Carrefour supermarkets for €75.3m
Supermarket Income REIT said on Monday that it has bought a portfolio of Carrefour supermarkets in France through a sale and leaseback transaction for €75. 3m.
Kosmos Energy refinances reserve-based lending facility
Kosmos Energy announced the refinancing of its reserve-based lending (RBL) facility on Monday, with its final maturity now set for December 2029.
Endeavour pours first gold at Senegal mine
Endeavour Mining said it had poured first gold from the Sabodala-Massawa BIOX Expansion project in Senegal on April 18.
AstraZeneca makes progress with two breast cancer treatments
AstraZeneca issued favourable updates on two of its breast cancer treatments on Monday - ‘Truqap’, or capivasertib, and ‘Enhertu’, or trastuzumab deruxtecan - following encouraging results from respective phase three trials.
Wood Group creates new chief strategy officer role
Consulting and engineering business Wood Group has created a new executive role of chief strategy officer to look after things like sustainability and corporate development.
Blackstone ups bid for Hipgnosis with $1.57bn offer
Music rights owner Hipgnosis said it it agreed terms on a £1. 2bn takeover by private equity investor Blackstone, in the latest tit-for-tat battle with rival Concord.
Hipgnosis agrees fresh Blackstone takeover, Beazley trades as expected
London open The FTSE 100 is expected to open 41 points higher on Monday, having closed ahead 0. 75% on Friday at 8,139. 83.
London pre-open: Stocks seen up; Halifax house prices in focus
London stocks looked set for a positive open on Monday after closing at another record high at the end of last week.
Insurer Beazley keeps guidance after solid Q1 premiums growth
Insurance group Beazley said that first-quarter results were in line with guidance with insurance written premiums (IWP) growing at high single digits.
Monday newspaper round-up: Thames Water, Brexit, Babylon
Senior Whitehall officials fear Thames Water’s financial collapse could trigger a rise in government borrowing costs not seen since the chaos of the Liz Truss mini-budget, the Guardian can reveal. Such is their concern about the impact on wider borrowing costs for the UK, even beyond utilities and infrastructure, that they believe Thames should be renationalised before the general election. Officials in the Treasury and the UK’s Debt Management Office fear that, unless the UK’s biggest water company is renationalised as soon as possible, “prolonged uncertainty” about its fate could “damage confidence in UK plc at a sensitive time”, with elections in the UK and the US later this year.
Demand for smaller homes pushes up house prices - Halifax
UK house prices jumped by nearly 2% over the last year, industry data showed on Monday, driven by demand for smaller homes.