Weekly review

Equity view

Great Portland Estates announced the purchase of King Sloane Properties on Friday, which itself owns the freehold of multiple addresses including 16/19 Soho Square, 29/43 Oxford Street, and 7 Falconberg Mews, W1. The FTSE 250 company said the significant acquisition from Belgravia & Chelsea Property Services was for a cash consideration based on a property valuation of £70m, equating to around £772 per square foot on a consented net internal area basis.

Impact Healthcare REIT announced the acquisition of a new £50m interest rate cap on Friday, set against the Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA) at a rate of 4.0%. The London-listed real estate investment trust said the cap, effective for two years, would expire on 15 August 2025.

Minerals explorer and developer Alien Metals announced on Friday that, having raised £2m through a placing, it had informed its lender Bennelong that it would not be drawing on the second tranche of funding. The AIM-traded firm said the tranche amounted to $0.5m, and was part of the convertible securities agreement set on 3 July.

Agricultural biological developer Plant Health Care announced on Friday that its biochemical fungicide PHC279, tailored for controlling sugar cane and coffee diseases, had obtained federal clearance in Brazil - the world's largest sugarcane and coffee producer. The AIM-traded firm said that with an anticipated area of 9.8 million hectares dedicated to sugar cane cultivation and more than 2.5 million hectares of coffee in the 2023-2024 season, Brazil remained at the forefront of the industries.

Empiric Student Property boasted a “very strong start” to 2023 as it raised its full-year guidance and pumped up its interim dividend. The company, which owns and operates studio-led student accommodation across the UK, reported a 16% year-on-year jump in first-half revenues to £41.3m, while earnings per share rose 18.5% to 2.3p

BAE Systems on Thursday said it had bought Ball Corporation's aerospace business $5.55bn in cash as it looked to cash in on higher government defence spending in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ball Aerospace makes spacecraft, mission payloads, optical systems, and antenna systems, serving the intelligence community, US Department of Defense, and civilian space agencies, BAE said in a statement.

Digital entertainment consultancy Kin and Carta reported net revenue of £48m in its fourth quarter in a trading update on Thursday - a figure that fell squarely in the middle of its projected range for the period. The London-listed company said it marked the second consecutive quarter where it saw sequential growth in net revenue when considering acquisition impacts.

Gambling operator, the Rank Group reported full-year like-for-like underlying operating profit of £20.3m in its preliminary results on Thursday - in line with its revised guidance from April, but down significantly from the prior year's £42.5m. The London-listed company said the second half showed a stronger performance than the first, boasting like-for-like operating profit of £16.1m, compared to £4.2m in the first six months of the year.

Global insurance giant Aviva reported robust first-half growth on Wednesday, with operating profit rising 8% year-on-year to £715m. The FTSE 100 company’s Solvency II own funds generation jumped 26% to £648m, while the Solvency II shareholder cover ratio dipped 10 percentage points to stand at 202%.

Admiral Group reported a small rise in half-yearly earnings as it hiked prices in response to claims inflation, but also slashed its interim dividend by 15%. Pre-tax profit rose 4% to £234m in the six months to June 30. The company declared an interim dividend of 51p a share, down from 60p a year earlier when it approved a special payout following the sale of its Penguin Portals.

Infrastructure giant Balfour Beatty reported a solid first-half performance on Wednesday, particularly in its earnings-based businesses, as it remained on target to meet its full-year expectations. The FTSE 250 company reported a 9% improvement in revenue year-on-year, to £4.5bn, while underlying profit from operations for its earnings-based businesses jumped 12% to £95m.

Essentra has reiterated its full-year guidance despite interim results showing that the decline in underlying sales accelerated during recent months, as profits jumped by more than half. The company, which makes component parts for both consumer goods and industrial applications, said revenue came in at £166.3m for the six months to 30 June, down 5.5% year-on-year.

Distribution and service specialist Bunzl unveiled its latest strategic moves to expand its global presence on Tuesday, through the acquisition of several businesses in Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Canada. The FTSE 100 company said it made its foray into Spain's hospitality sector in June, by acquiring La Cartuja Complementos Hostelería.

Financial service company Legal & General reported a robust first-half performance on Tuesday, as it made progress toward its five-year ambitions set for 2020-2024. The FTSE 100 company reported an operating profit of £941m for the period, slightly below the £958m recorded in the first six months of 2022.

Water, climate and ventilation solutions specialist Genuit Group reported a 4.2% decrease in first-half revenue on Tuesday, to £304.8m, although it remained confident in its full-year outlook. The FTSE 250 company said that on a like-for-like basis, the reduction extended to 5%, which it put down to a 14.5% drop in volume.

Betting and gaming giant 888 Holdings reported a boosted first-half performance on Tuesday, on the back of its acquisition of William Hill last July. The London-listed firm said reported revenue jumped 165% year-on-year in the six months ended 30 June, to £882m, while adjusted EBITDA surged 211% to £156m.

Tritax EuroBox said it had agreed two new leases in Italy and Germany, securing €1.3m in rent. The company on Monday said it had let a unit in the Settimino development outside Turin, Italy and a new seven-year lease for a unit in Bochum, Germany.

Property investor Shaftesbury Capital announced a significant financial development on Monday, in the form of a new loan agreement with Aviva Investors. The FTSE 250 company said the agreement entailed a 10-year loan worth £200m, backed by a portfolio of assets within the Carnaby estate.

Precious metals explorer and miner Hochschild Mining updated the market on its Volcan Gold Project on Monday, situated in the Maricunga Region of Chile. The company gained ownership of the Volcan project in 2012 following its acquisition of Andina Minerals.

Domain registry and internet services provider CentralNic gave an upbeat outlook on Monday as it delivered an impressive set of first-half results, with revenues rising by nearly a fifth. The figures, which were in line with guidance given last month, showed that revenue increased 18% year-on-year to $396.4m in the six months to 30 June, while adjusted EBITDA rose 16% to $44.6m. Adjusted EPS jumped 34% to 11.37 cents.

Economic news

UK retail sales fell 1.2% last month compared with June, as wet weather literally turned a key summer shopping month into a damp squib for businesses. The slump followed a revised 0.6% rise in a record hot June which sparked a jump in food and furniture sales despite the cost of living crisis.

UK consumer price inflation slowed again to 6.8% in July, driven by falling food and energy prices, according to official data published on Wednesday. The fall was lower than June's 7.9% and in line with economists' forecasts. However it is still well above the Bank of England's 2% target.

UK food price inflation fell for the fifth month in a row in the four weeks to August 6 providing some hope that the eye-watering cost of a grocery shop will start to ease for consumers, according to data published by market research group Kantar. Grocery price inflation fell to 12.7%, down 2.2 percentage points from a month earlier in what was the second sharpest monthly drop since 2008.

UK wages growth in the three months to June leapt to its highest rate since records began while the unemployment rate also rose unexpectedly, according to official data released on Tuesday, putting more pressure on the beleaguered Bank of England to lift interest rates again in its fight to quell inflation. Average weekly earnings excluding bonuses rose 7.8% in the quarter - the highest since records began in 2001 - the Office for National Statistics said. Total earnings rose 8.2%, higher than forecasts of 7.3%, boosted by one-off bonus payments made to National Health Service staff in June.

International events

Eurozone inflation slowed again in July, data from the European Union showed on Friday, raising hopes that the European Central Bank may slow its cycle of rate hikes. Consumer prices increased by 5.3% in July versus 5.5% in the previous month, said statistics agency Eurostat. Core inflation, a key metric which excludes volatile items like food and energy, was confirmed flat at 5.5% from initial estimates.

Japan's core inflation rate fell to 3.1% in July from 3.3% in the previous month, in line with expectations. The headline rate for July came in at 3.3%, unchanged from June. Official data also revealed that the “core-core” inflation measure, which strips out volatile items such as fresh food and energy and used by the Bank of Japan in its monetary policy considerations, came in at 4.2%, down from 4.3% in June.

Evergrande, the heavily indebted Chinese property group and once the country's second developer, on Thursday filed for chapter 15 bankruptcy in New York – indicating the ongoing real estate crisis in China is far from over. The Guangzhou-based group, which is thought to hold over $300bn in debt, defaulted on its repayments back in 2021, prompting a string of defaults at other building companies.

US weekly jobless claims declined more or less as expected last week, according to statistics released Thursday by the Department of Labor. The number of people filing to receive unemployment insurance benefits for the first time totalled 239,000 in the week ended 12 August, compared with an upwardly revised 250,000 the week before (initial figure: 248,000).

Eurozone GDP rose by 0.3% in the second quarter of the year compared with the prior three months, according to official final figures. The year-on-year rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 0.6%, also in line with the first estimate and consensus.

US retail sales rose in July for the fourth month in a row, helped by a big boost from Amazon Prime Day. The Commerce Department revealed that retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in July. This followed a revised 0.3% gain in June and surpassed economists' predictions of 0.4% growth.

Russia on Tuesday made an emergency 3.5 percentage point increase in interest rates as it tried to prop up its currency, the rouble. Its key rate was hiked to 12% after an extraordinary meeting of the bank’s board of directors, which was called after the rouble nosedived below 100 to the dollar on Monday morning when it cost 101.04 per US dollar. However on Tuesday it had strengthened to 0.99.

China's economic woes continued last month, as a deluge of data missed estimates and the country's statistics bureau controversially suspended publication of youth unemployment figures. July retail sales rose 2.5% on an annualised basis, well below expectations of a 4.5% increase. Meanwhile, industrial production increased 3.7% year on year, missing the 4.4% increased by analysts.

Japan’s economy expanded for the third quarter in a row driven by growth in exports on the back of a weak yen, according to provisional data published on Tuesday. The economy grew 6% on an annual basis in the second quarter, beating expectations of 3.1% growth in the April-June quarter. A fall in the value of the yen helped exporters as Japanese-made goods became cheaper for consumers around the world.

The People’s Bank of China made a surprise cut to interest rates on Tuesday as it looked to stimulate economic demand amid a sputtering recovery. Defying expectations, the People's Bank of China cut the rate on 401 billion yuan ($55.25bn) worth of one-year medium-term lending facility (MLF) loans to some financial institutions by 15 basis points to 2.50% from 2.65% previously.

Reporting by staff and contributors for Sharecast.com.