Mitie buys Spanish security firm, Grainger flags solid end to year
By Josh White
Date: Monday 07 Oct 2024
(Sharecast News) - London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open 28 points higher on Monday, having closed down 0.02% on Friday at 8,280.63.
Stocks to watch
Mitie Group said it had bought Spanish security business Grupo Visegurity for up to €11m (£9.2m) on Monday, comprising an initial payment of €9m and performance-linked deferred payments of up to €2m over the next two years.
Grainger reported strong full-year income growth in an update on Monday, adding 1,113 new homes and achieving like-for-like rental growth of 6.3%, with occupancy at 97.4%. The FTSE 250 private landlord said it generated £274m from non-core asset sales to support its growth strategy, adding that its build-to-rent schemes were leasing ahead of expectations. It said it expected continued growth in the new financial year, underpinned by wage growth and a favourable political environment, as it prepared for its conversion to a real estate investment trust next October.
Rio Tinto confirmed speculation on Monday morning that it has approached Philadelphia-based lithium chemicals producer Arcadium Lithium regarding a possible takeover. "The approach is non-binding and there is no certainty that any transaction will be agreed to or will proceed," Rio Tinto said. US-listed shares in Arcadium were up 10% on Friday, while its secondary shares in Australia soared 45% on Monday.
Newspaper round-up
More than 70 retailers, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Ikea, are lobbying the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for a 20% cut to business rates, warning that the property tax could force tens of thousands of shops to shut. In a letter to Reeves coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), executives are pushing the Treasury to introduce a "retail rates corrector" on the levy, which is a property-based tax charged by local councils and imposed on businesses including retailers, pubs, factories and company offices. - Guardian
The UK steel industry has called for the government to consider further protectionist trade measures as it braces for a flood of imported steel amid a global glut driven by China. UK Steel, a lobby group, said the global industry has 543m tonnes of excess steel, 70 times more than the UK uses each year, in analysis published on Monday. It said the UK faces a "cliff edge" in 2026 when current protections run out. - Guardian
The owner of US news website The New York Sun is nearing a deal to buy The Telegraph for more than £550m. Dovid Efune is poised to enter exclusive talks with RedBird IMI to become proprietor in the coming days. Discussions are understood to be at an advanced stage, according to deal insiders. RedBird IMI, which is running the sale process, declined to comment. - Telegraph
An alliance of dozens of the biggest pension funds in Britain has renewed its attack on the London Stock Exchange, warning that it should not be pushing to weaken boardroom standards in listed companies any further. Council pension schemes with assets of £350 billion have repeatedly called on Don Robert, chairman of the parent London Stock Exchange Group, to justify claims that the old listing rules were damaging London. - The Times
A Vietnamese airline that is facing a compensation bill of up to $250 million in a High Court dispute over aircraft leases with a London-based investment firm has won the right to appeal. The dispute is between Vietjet, a private sector airline with ambitions to fly to London, and FitzWalter Capital Limited (FWC), a private investment firm with investments in the aircraft leasing sector. - The Times
US close
US stocks finished with strong gains on Friday, with the Dow once again reaching a record high, on the back of a bumper employment report which showed that the American economy added significantly more jobs than expected in September.
The data also revealed that the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell, dashing any expectations of a potential 50 basis points rate cut by the Federal Reserve next month.
The data gave stocks a boost as investors temporarily shrugged off escalating tensions in the Middle East which have weighed heavily on market sentiment over recent days.
The Dow finished the day up 0.8% at a new high of 42,352.75, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% to 5,751.07, just shy of last week's record close of 5,762.48.
The Nasdaq, meanwhile, gained 1.2% to 18,137.85.
According to figures from the Labor Department, total non-farm payrolls rose by 254,000 from August, versus expectations for a 140,000 increase. The figure for August was revised up to a 159,000 gain from 142,000.
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