Flybe agrees to consortium takeover, Ei Group offloads 370 properties

Stocks to watch

British regional airline Flybe Group on Friday agreed a 1p-a-share takeover by a consortium made up of Virgin Atlantic, Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital Partners valuing the company at £2.2m. The consortium, known as Connect Airways, committed to make available a £20m bridge loan facility to support Flybe's ongoing working capital and operational requirements. A further £80m would be invested in the business, as well as the contribution of Stobart Air after completion.

Hastings announced on Friday that Richard Hoskins, who had been with the business since April 2015, was retiring from his position as group chief financial officer. The FTSE 250 company said John Worth, currently group CFO at MS Amlin, would replace Hoskins and was expected to join the board within “the next few months”. It said Worth would work with Hoskins to ensure orderly succession and a smooth handover.

Pub operator Ei Group said on Friday that it has agreed to dispose of 370 properties for £348m to Tavern Propco Limited. Ei said the disposal, which comprises a significant proportion of its current commercial properties division, represents a successful outcome of the previously announced sale process designed to optimise value from this part of the group.

Even though the rate of growth slow in the last two months of the year, builders merchant Grafton Group expects adjusted profits to be slightly ahead of the top end of analyst expectations. Revenue for calendar 2018 was £2.95bn, an increase of 8.7% on the previous year, while the top end of the analyst forecasts range is £188.5m.

Newspaper round-up

Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct has engineered an audacious coup at Debenhams, voting the chairman and chief executive off the board amid growing concerns about the department store group’s future. The sportswear retailer, which is the largest shareholder in Debenhams, teamed up with Milestone Resources, the third largest investor, to vote against the reappointment of Sir Ian Cheshire and Sergio Bucher. - The Times

A no-deal Brexit would have profound economic consequences with GDP shrinking by up to 8%, putting thousands of jobs at risk, the Confederation of British Industry is to warn. The business body is urging MPs to back Theresa May’s deal, describing it as a “solution” businesses can work with as it delivers a transition period and avoids a “hugely damaging cliff edge”. - Guardian

The government has been accused of caving to big banks and setting the scene for another financial scandal after refusing to heed calls by the influential Treasury select committee to regulate small business lending. Business lending is still not regulated in the UK, an anomaly that has left victims without the protection of the Financial Conduct Authority, the City regulator. - Guardian

US close

Wall Street trading reversed earlier losses to finish in positive territory on Thursday, amid concerns about the ongoing government shutdown and after weaker-than-forecast Chinese inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the session up 0.51% at 24,001.92, the S&P 500 added 0.45% to 2,569.64, and the Nasdaq 100 was ahead 0.31% at 6,620.94.

It made for the first five-day winning streak for the S&P 500 since September.

The Dow had opened more than 120 points lower, as sentiment took a hit from lower-than-expected Chinese inflation data released overnight and failed US government shutdown talks.

Donald Trump stormed out of a meeting with Congressional Democrat leaders on Wednesday after they continued to refuse his demands to fund a border wall with Mexico.

Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer said Trump "slammed the table" before abruptly leaving the meeting after House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would not approve funding for the wall.