Premier Foods trading on track, sales grow at AB Foods' Primark

Stocks to watch

Premier Foods, the food manufacturer behind brands like Mr Kipling, Bisto and Ambrosia, said it is on track to hit profit forecasts this year after a solid third quarter with double-digit sales growth across the group. Sales in the three months to 30 December were up 14.4% over last year, helped by market share gains of 121 basis points. In its outlook statement, the company added that a full resolution of its pension schemes is expected within three years, "which will open up a range of value enhancing opportunities to further accelerate shareholder value".

Sales at clothing retailer Primark grew 2.1% on a like-for-like basis over the Christmas period despite warmer weather, parent company Associated British Foods said on Tuesday, adding that it did not expect supply disruptions from attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

Vistry Group announced on Tuesday that its Countryside Partnerships division has been chosen as the preferred developer by the Greater London Authority to construct 739 mixed-tenure homes in Colindale, Barnet, under a £276m development scheme. The FTSE 250 firm said the project would include 427 affordable homes, making up 60% of the development, with a mix of affordable rent, social rent, and shared ownership properties. It would also feature 144 build-to-rent homes and 168 homes for private sale, subject to planning approval, and would start in summer 2025, with completion set for 2030.

Newspaper round-up

London is capturing an ever-bigger share of the UK’s record service sector exports and government action is needed to ensure other big cities keep pace with the capital, a report says. The Resolution Foundation said London accounted for almost half of the UK’s service sector exports, with its share of the total rising from 38% to 46% between 2016 and 2021. – Guardian

More than 2 million people across the UK will be cut off from their gas and electricity this winter because they cannot afford to top up their prepayment meters, according to Citizens Advice. The charity said it had made the estimate for what is expected to be its busiest winter ever for helping people who cannot afford to top up, after last year 1.7 million people were disconnected at least once a month. About 800,000 people went more than 24 hours without gas and electricity, unable to make a hot meal or take a warm shower, because they could not afford to top up. – Guardian

The leader of the Abu Dhabi-backed bid for The Telegraph has attended a Conservative networking lunch alongside the Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary, as they prepare to decide whether the takeover can go ahead. Jeff Zucker, the head of RedBird IMI and former CNN chief, was among guests at the Conservative Friends of Israel’s annual business lunch at the InterContinental Park Lane in London. – Telegraph

Vertical Aerospace, the electric flying taxi business, has been handed $50 million by its founder to keep it airborne. Stephen Fitzpatrick, the Northern Irish entrepreneur who is behind the household supplier Ovo Energy, will inject $25 million of equity capital in the first instance at $10 a share, with a further $25 million by the end of July at an undetermined price. This will be reduced if the company secures equity funding from alternative sources. – The Times

A start-up that can clone people’s voices has been valued at more than $1 billion in its latest funding round, with investment from Silicon Valley stalwarts including Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital. ElevenLabs uses artificial intelligence to convert written words into speech that sounds as if it is being read by real voices and “renders human intonation and inflections with unrivalled fidelity”, according to the business. – The Times

US close

US stocks booked modest gains on Monday but that didn't stop the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 both closing at new all-time highs.

The Dow closed above the psychologically important barrier of 38,000 for the first time ever, rising 0.4% to 38,001.81, while the S&P 500 rose 0.2% to register its second-straight record of 4,850.43. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, gained 0.3% to 15,360.29.

Quarterly results from Tesla are out on Wednesday, as the first of the so-called ‘Magnificent Seven’ tech stocks report to the market. IBM and Netflix will also be in focus this week, along with central bank decisions in Japan and Europe on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

On home shores, the US economic data schedule looks relatively sparse this week, though the personal consumption expenditures index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation – will make headlines on Friday.