Shares in private equity investment trust Oakley Capital Investments (OCI), edged higher following the announcement of a $35 million investment in Seedtag, a leader in contextual advertising in EMEA and Latin America. This deal is in line with Oakley’s focus on areas with structural growth prospects. Oakley is focused on three sectors: technology, education and consumer. It targets ...

The former chief executive and founder of advertising giant WPP (WPP) Martin Sorrell has pursued a ruthless growth strategy with his new digital marketing upstart S4 Capital (SFOR), which he heads up as executive chairman.  His departure from WPP was mired in acrimony but Sorrell has moved on fast with the strategy for S4 predicated upon the premise that embracing the transition to digital ...

After a strong start opening on the back of gains in Asian markets and bid stories, the FTSE 100 index trod water for most of the day to close 21 points or 0.3% higher at 7,109 points. Gains in consumer and mining stocks were offset by losses for healthcare and utility names. One stock which managed to extend its morning gains was supermarket group Sainsbury (SBRY), which finished up 15% to ...

After a strong start to the week on the back of gains in Asian market, the FTSE 100 index ebbed back on Monday lunchtime to sit 20 points or 0.3% higher at 7,109 points. Gains in consumer and mining stocks were offset by losses for healthcare and utility names. One stock consolidating on its morning gains was supermarket group Sainsbury (SBRY), which gained 15% to 340p having opened up around ...

Advertising leviathan WPP (WPP) has announced the acquisition of AI specialist Satalaia, one of the fastest growing UK technology companies. Satalia employs enterprise software that uses machine learning to help businesses improved their efficiency. Satalia is best known for its Delivery and Workforce products. Workforce optimises the scheduling and routes of delivery vehicles in real time ...

Major UK stock made a strong start to the new trading week, taking its cue from Asia’s main markets. At 8:50 UK time, the benchmark FTSE 100 was trading higher by 0.3% at 7,108.45. The midcap FTSE 250 was 0.2% higher at 23,798.23. Top riser early on was Sainsbury (SBRY), jumping more than 10% to 325p after weekend reports it is in the cross-hairs of private equity. This as the battle ...

Having struggled for direction all morning, the FTSE 100 index surged from its lunchtime lows to tack on 32 points or 0.45% to 7,164 by the close, led by cyclical stocks including media companies ITV (ITV) and WPP (WPP). Gambling company Flutter Entertainment (FLTR) was the top FTSE performer, rallying 8% to £139.78 after it reported a better-than-expected trebling of first-half profit amid ...

Shares in advertising group WPP (WPP) traded 2% higher at 960p after half year results beat expectations. The group has benefited from a sharp recovery in global advertising expenditure and has returned to full-year 2019 levels a year ahead of plan. The guidance for the operating margin has been raised, and £350m of share buybacks has been announced. Revenue during the first ...

The FTSE 100 dipped slightly on Thursday morning, although it remained above the 7,000 level at 7,118.3, following the UK’s easing of travel restrictions for some destinations including France, which will see less people being forced to quarantine on their return to the UK. Strength in utilities and real estate was offset by weakness in miners and consumer non-cyclicals as investors waited ...

It’s been a relatively quiet week for director deals with little in the way of buying or selling, but two companies in particular have seen notable activity after surges in their share price. One such company is FTSE 250 building products firm Grafton (GFTU). Chief executive Gavin Slark has sold £2.15 million worth of shares in the group, at a price of £11.98 each, after results last week ...

Advertising firm S4 Capital (SFOR) – led by WPP (WPP) founder Martin Sorrell – gained 2% to 570p on a confident first quarter update. The company upgraded its annual guidance after its first-quarter gross profit jumped 71% as acquisitions boosted sales. Separately it announced that it had acquired Brazilian digital performance agency Raccoon, for an undisclosed sum. Gross profit for ...

London’s FTSE 100 finished Wednesday’s trading session 0.3% to the good at 6,963.67 points, albeit off intra-day highs, as investors awaited the latest meeting of the US Federal Reserve as well as updates from Apple and Facebook. Across the pond in the US, the benchmark S&P 500 traded slightly higher at 4,190.46 points by 4.30pm UK time. The UK’s blue chip benchmark was buoyed by ...

London’s FTSE 100 traded in positive territory at midday on Wednesday, the blue chip benchmark bid up 0.6% to 6,982.9 points as positive corporate news on both sides of the Atlantic and optimism over the economic recovery in the UK following encouraging results from Lloyds (LLOY) buoyed investor sentiment. Overnight both Google-owner Alphabet and Microsoft reported quarterly earnings ahead of ...

Advertising company WPP (WPP) gained 3% to 979.2p as it enjoyed the key milestone of seeing a return to like-for-like growth across all of its business units. The first quarter numbers suggest CEO Mark Read’s turnaround of the group, after the acrimonious departure of founder Martin Sorrell in 2018, is getting back on course after being interrupted by the pandemic. Revenue for the three ...

London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.41% to 6,973.11 in early trading on Wednesday as optimism over the economic recovery grows while investors await the latest interest rate decision from the US Federal Reserve. The Fed is unlikely to make any policy changes this time, though it is expected to acknowledge of the strengthening of the US economy, and it’s been reported that this could be the last Fed ...

With ‘value’ investing still in the ascendancy in global markets, and with UK stocks still trading at a hefty discount to their international peers, we have screened the FTSE All-Share index for cheap stocks which we believe offer significant upside potential. As well as looking at straightforward price to earnings ratios for the next 12 months, we have included returns on capital – in ...

Another week of directors buying and selling shares in their respective companies has seen some rather notable trades, including a few who have decided to cash in ahead of the Easter bank holiday weekend. One of the most sizeable deals involves Alex Dacre and Charles Skinner, chief executive and non-executive director respectively at safety inspection and compliance business Marlowe ...

Advertising firm WPP (WPP) gained 1.5% to 925.4p as it increased its full-year dividend and resumed share buybacks despite posting a multi-billion pound loss. The company pointed to a ‘remarkably resilient’ 2020 despite posting a 9.3% fall in revenue to £12 billion. The company’s full year headline operating margin was 12.9%, down 1.5 points on the year before as cost savings of over ...

Prior to the pandemic, £3.6 billion Evenlode Income Fund (BD0B7D5) was lauded by various fund experts as a good place to put your money. On a five-year basis, it has been in the top 25% best performing funds for its category, achieving the much sought-after top quartile status. Unfortunately, recent performance has disappointed with the fund in the bottom quartile for the past six and 12 ...

The FTSE 100 experienced some fairly wild swings in afternoon trading on Wednesday following the Budget, with a mixed reaction to announcements including the extension of furlough and support for businesses, as well as continued relief on stamp duty and a plan to raise corporate tax to 25%. Having initially rallied over 1% in morning trade before falling back to trade just 0.2% higher after the ...