M&A excitement in the gambling space and a strong showing on Wall Street helped the FTSE 100 to a positive finish on Friday, closing 0.3% higher at 5,842.67. Bookmaker William Hill (WMH) surged 42.5% to 310p as it revealed it had received two cash bids – raising the prospect of a competitive auction for the business. This led to strength in the wider gambling sector. Online fashion ...

Shares in AIM debutant Various Eateries (VARE:AIM) traded 6% below the issue price of 73p on Friday on its first day of trading after issuing 34.2 million shares to raise a net £25 million, giving the company a £65 million market capitalisation. With a leadership headed by Pizza Express and Punch Group founder Hugh Osmond and Cote Brasserie founder Andy Bassadone, it is not surprising the ...

The FTSE 100 gave up any gains by lunchtime on Friday to trade 0.8% lower at 5,776.34. Not helping sentiment was news that London has been placed on a UK Covid watchlist amid a surge in infections. European markets were also weak with the US futures markets implying there will be a poor start on Wall Street later. Closer to home there was renewed weakness for those businesses at the sharp ...

The asset manager behind two top performing funds is to apply its winning investment strategy to a new investment trust. Sanford DeLand will float Buffettology Small Companies Investment Trust on the London market at the end of October, following a similar investment style to legendary investor Warren Buffett. Sanford DeLand likes to invest in companies whose shares can be bought at a fair ...

In a trading statement, water company Pennon Group (PNN) said it was on track to meet management expectations to deliver resilient financial results for the half year ending 30 September. The shares nudged up 1.2% to £10.50. The largest impact from the pandemic has been on business and commercial customers which has been offset by increased household revenues as a result of more people working ...

The release of an independent report into a supply chain scandal at online fashion retailer Boohoo (BOO:AIM) sets the shares off on a big relief rally, rising 11.3% to 361p on signs the company has clear plans to fix its problems. The probe concluded the company did not deliberately allow poor conditions and low pay to exist within its supply chain. The report identified 'significant and ...

Shares in London West End property investor Shaftesbury (SHB) ticked up 0.7% to 464.6p despite delivering an effective profit warning and keeping dividends off the menu amid a big hit from Covid-19. The company warned that fresh government restrictions could stymie a recent recovery in retail footfall. The company said 41% of its rent due for the six months through September had been ...

The FTSE 100 got off to a modest start on Friday morning, gaining 0.35% to 5,843 on hopes that lawmakers in the US would agree on a crucial stimulus package for the world’s biggest economy. US government bond yields also rose following reports that Democrats were preparing a new economic stimulus package totalling $2.4 trillion in a bid to kickstart talks with Republicans, though reports ...

The FTSE 100 index closed down 1.3% on Thursday at 5,825 points amid growing concerns of a further Covid-19 lockdown. There was some disappointment that the UK chancellor Rishi Sunak’s new job support strategy is less generous than the existing furlough scheme. Veterinary services firm Pets At Home (PETS) gained 27% to 388p after it revealed that earnings for the full year would beat ...

The FTSE 100 index trimmed some of its earlier losses but remained in negative territory on Thursday amid growing concerns of another lockdown. At 1pm the FTSE 100 was down 0.55% at 5,866 points. UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the government would directly support wages of people at work and help firms employ people on shorter hours. Shares in skin analytics company Integumen ...