Monday newspaper round-up: Homeowners, UK stock market, Compass

Homeowners in England and Wales who sold their property in 2023 netted an average profit of £102,000 despite house prices falling last year, according to new data. The data, issued by estate agent Hamptons, shows that while 2023 was challenging for the UK property market, years of strong price growth meant those who sold a home last year typically banked a sizeable profit or had a decent sum to put towards their next purchase. – Guardian

The UK’s fruit and flower growers face an “existential threat” from new post-Brexit border checks that could damage business and affect next year’s crops, the country’s biggest farming body has said. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) warned that changes to import rules in April, which will impose checks at the border for nearly all young plants coming into the country, could cause long delays and result in plants being damaged or destroyed. – Guardian

Britain’s stock market is tipped to outperform US and EU benchmarks this year as money managers across the City predict a bounceback for the unloved assets. British equities will deliver 9pc returns over 2024, Goldman Sachs has predicted, beating projected returns from the S&P 500, leading eurozone markets and Japanese stocks. – Telegraph

Soaring energy and raw material prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are set to have increased losses at British Steel. Britain’s second biggest steelmaker warned in its delayed accounts for 2021, which were published only last week, that the war in eastern Europe had led to a period of “significant volatility in both the levels of the absolute price and cost, but also the level of steel margins”, which had contributed to the company making “significant losses” in 2022. – The Times

All eyes in the City this morning will turn to Compass and its share price after a report that the catering company is set to strike a multimillion-pound deal for a rival. The world’s largest catering group is said to be closing in on a £400 million-plus acquisition of CH&Co, according to Sky News. It would be Compass’s largest British purchase in years. – The Times