Wilko rescue deal ‘collapses’ – latest updates
A deal aimed at rescuing hundreds of Wilko stores has collapsed, leaving thousands of jobs at risk.
Doug Putman, the Canadian owner of HMV, had planned to keep 300 stores open but his bid failed after rising costs complicated his offer.
Last week B&M bought 51 Wilko stores for £13m after a separate last-minute bid by a private equity firm to rescue the business collapsed.
Some 1,300 people at Wilko were also made redundant after administrators PwC said 52 stores would close because of an “absence of viable offers for the whole business”.
PwC declined to comment.
Read the latest updates below.
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Wilko rescue deal fails
Thousands of jobs at Wilko could be lost after a takeover of hundreds of stores fell through.
Doug Putman, the Canadian owner of HMW, had tabled a bid that would have saved around 300 stores.
However, he reportedly ran into issues with companies that supplied products to Wilko before it collapsed in August.
Administrators at PwC declined to comment.
Pound moves higher as dollar’s rally ends
The pound has gained against the dollar, which has fallen back after its recent record streak of weekly gains.
Sterling has risen 0.4pc to $1.25 and has also enjoyed a strong start to the week against the euro, gaining 0.2pc to €1.16.
However, the fallen 0.8pc against the yen after the comments by the Governor of the Bank of Japan that markets interpreted as hawkish.
Kazuo Ueda told the Yomiuri newspaper there may be sufficient information by the end of the year to judge if wages will continue to rise, which is a key factor in deciding whether to pare back its ultra-easy monetary policy.
FTSE 100 gains as China rebounds from deflation
The UK’s exporter-heavy FTSE 100 index opened higher as it was boosted by miners after positive China data signalled stability in the world’s second-largest economy.
The blue-chip index has risen 0.9pc in early trading, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index was up 0.6pc.
Data showed China’s consumer prices returned to positive territory in August, while the country’s new bank loans jumped more-than-expected last month, reflecting signs of economic stabilisation of the top metals consumer.
Industrial metal miners gained 2.8pc.
Vistry Group jumped 14.4pc after the British homebuilder said it would merge its affordable-housing business ‘Partnerships’ with its Housebuilding operations, while maintaining its annual profit forecast.
AstraZeneca was down 0.6pc, after The Mail on Sunday reported that the drugmaker’s chief executive Pascal Soriot had privately told friends and trusted advisers that he was looking to step down.
Barclays rose 0.7pc after Reuters reported that the lender is drawing up plans to cut hundreds of jobs, as the bank trims its costs while embarking on a wider strategy review.
‘We have to do some investment ourselves as Government,’ says Badenoch
BMW’s “fantastic” decision to invest £600m in making their new Minis in Cowley in Oxfordshire comes as the automotive sector faces “a lot of headwinds,” said Kemi Badenoch.
The Business Secretary was asked how much taxpayer money was being spent to secure the investment from BMW.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
All I can tell you is what we put in the automotive transformation fund, and that’s money that goes to many different companies across the sector not just one. We put in £350 million in 2021.
We do have to do some investment ourselves as Government, that is standard, and we’re competing against countries from all around the world as well as the EU and we are winning. We’re not doing anything out of the ordinary.
With the headwinds that the car industry is facing – you look at the disruption to supply chains, you look at the increase in energy costs because of Russia’s war in Ukraine – we need to make sure that we don’t just sit back and allow the industry to wither.
What we are doing is making sure that it continues to be buoyant.
FTSE 100 opens higher
The FTSE 100 has opened higher after data showed China has returned to inflation in sign that economic stimulus is beginning to work in the world’s second largest economy.
Britain’s exporter-focused index gained 0.6pc to 7,524.59 after the open while the midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.3pc to 18,526.13.
Heathrow passengers grow by a quarter
Heathrow Airport handled 7.5m passengers last month with passengers checking in more bags than ever before.
Overall passenger numbers were up 25pc on August last year. It has handled 52.3m travellers so far this year, up 36pc on 2022.
However, figures remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye said: “I am very proud of the way colleagues across Team Heathrow made sure that passengers had a super start to their summer holidays, with record levels of passenger satisfaction and average security queue times of less than two minutes – Heathrow is back to its best.”
Passengers at Heathrow Airport faced disruption over the Bank Holiday weekend after a glitch in air traffic control systems
Credit: Lucy North/PA Wire
7:46AM
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Vistry to focus on affordable housing as profits fall
Housebuilder Vistry has unveiled plans to merge its housebuilding division within its affordable homes business Partnerships as it posted a fall in half-year profits.
The company said it wanted to refocus the group’s operations on its “high return” Partnerships arm, which works with local government authorities and housing associations to build affordable homes.
It said the move will see it cut the number of regional businesses from 32 to 27 and reduce costs by around £25m, on top of cost savings from its takeover late in 2022 of Countryside Partnerships.
Its three housebuilding brands, Bovis Homes, Linden Homes and Countryside Homes, will be retained, as will the Countryside Partnerships brand.
Details of the plans came as it reported an 8.4pc plunge in underlying pre-tax profits to £174m for the first half of 2023.
Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said:
The scale of the social need for affordable mixed tenure housing across the country continues to increase and it is clear that Vistry is uniquely positioned as the leader in partnerships housing.
In this context and following our annual review of the group’s strategy, the board has concluded that focusing the group’s operations fully on partnerships by merging our housebuilding operations with our Partnerships business, best enables sustained growth in housing output, provides greater benefits to our partners, while maximising value and long term returns for shareholders.
Vistry revealed a fall in pre-tax profits in the first half of the year
Credit: Darren Staples/Bloomberg
7:34AM
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Frankie & Benny’s sale ‘accelerates’ growth plans, says TRG boss
Andy Hornby, chief executive officer of The Restaurant Group, said:
A sale of our leisure business significantly accelerates our medium-term strategic plans to increase adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins and reduce leverage.
On behalf of TRG, I would like to express our massive thanks to the extraordinarily hardworking and dedicated teams across the leisure business who have made huge improvements in the customer proposition over the last few years.
We wish them all well as part of the Big Table Group.
Alan Morgan, chief executive officer of the Big Table Group, said: “Creating, developing and acquiring brands that complement our existing portfolio whilst offering widespread consumer appeal is a fundamental part of our growth strategy.
“This exciting acquisition forms part of that strategy and we are delighted to be welcoming this new team into The Big Table Group.”
Frankie & Benny’s offloaded by The Restaurant Group
The Restaurant Group (TRG) has agreed a deal to sell its leisure business, which includes the Frankie and Benny’s and Chiquito chains, to rival Big Table Group.
TRG said it will pay £7.5m in cash to Big Table, which owns Cafe Rouge, Las Iguanas and Bella Italia, for it to buy the loss-making business.
It comes after months of pressure from activist investors at Wagamama owner TRG for it to offload parts of its business in an effort to boost profitability.
The deal, which is expected to complete in the final quarter of 2023, will allow TRG to focus on its Wagamama, pubs and concessions divisions.
Frankie & Benny’s is part of the leisure business that has been sold by The Restaurant Group
Credit: REUTERS/Andrew Couldridge
7:25AM
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BMW commits to UK with electric Mini plans
BMW will announce plans to build its next-generation electric Mini in Oxford after securing a Government funding package.
The German-headquartered manufacturer’s £600m investment to transform its existing plant will secure 4,000 high-quality jobs, according to ministers.
Government sources declined to set out the level of taxpayer support being offered to BMW, but did not dispute the previously reported figure of £75m.
Rishi Sunak said the Government was securing jobs and growing the economy “by backing our car manufacturing industry”.
“BMW’s investment is another shining example of how the UK is the best place to build cars of the future,” the Prime Minister added.
The announcement is the latest boost for the British car industry, with figures last month suggesting production increased by almost a third last month compared to a year ago.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said it showed carmakers continued their recovery from recent difficulties, including global chip shortages.
Last week electric vehicle production also began at the Stellantis’s factory in Ellesmere Port after an £100m investment, following doubts due to post-Brexit trading arrangements.
Vans such as the Vauxhall Combo Electric, Opel Combo Electric, Peugeot e-Partner, Citroen e-Berlingo and Fiat E-Doblo will be made at the Cheshire site.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said BMW’s investment was a “huge vote of confidence in this country as a global leader in electric vehicles”.
The Mini electric car will be built at BMW’s plant near Oxford
Credit: TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images
7:19AM
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Good morning
Thanks for joining me. BMW will make a multimillion pound investment in its electric Mini production in Britain in a move which secures 4,000 jobs.
Business minister Kemi Badenoch will visit the Cowley Mini plant in Oxford for the announcement of the investment, which the Government said followed “extensive government engagement and support”.
The Government did not give a figure for the announcement but said it would bring total investment into the automotive sector to over £6bn in recent years.
5 things to start your day
1) Net zero and ageing populations risk higher taxes, analysts warn[13] | BNP Paribas said that spending demands from several economic shifts meant states would likely be permanently bigger
2) Hunt warned tax on shops will keep prices higher for longer [14]| Jump in business rates of more than £400m next year will ramp up costs, retailers say
3) Britain’s high streets risk becoming ‘looting ground’ for shoplifters, says John Lewis boss[15] | Dame Sharon White calls for Royal Commission review into the ailing health of town centres
4) Dodgy statistics and even dodgier forecasts are making policy harder[16] | Bad data undermines confidence – it is worth investing a little more to get them right
5) Apple braces for backlash after caving to EU demands on iPhone chargers [17]| The tech giant’s latest smartphone models will do away with its unique lightning charging cables
What happened overnight
Stock prices were mostly higher in Asia after China’s latest economic data.
Benchmarks fell in Hong Kong and Tokyo but rose in Shanghai, Sydney and Seoul.
Over the weekend, China reported a slight increase in its own inflation data, suggesting deflationary pressures seen as a sign of weakness in its slowing economy might be easing. The government is due to report industrial output for August later in the week.
However, a surge in oil prices has added to worries that inflation may not be waning as hoped in the US and other major economies.
That could lead the Federal Reserve and other central banks to keep interest rates higher for longer, which would hurt prices for shares and other investments.
The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6pc to 3,133.85, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.4pc to 17,940.08.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 edged 0.2pc lower to 32,544.04, while the Kospi in Seoul was up just 1 point, at 2,548.67.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1pc to 7,161.50.
References
- ^ Markets Hub embed test (cf-particle-html.eip.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 9:14AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 8:49AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 8:36AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 8:22AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 8:11AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 8:03AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 7:46AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 7:34AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 7:32AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 7:25AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ 7:19AM (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Net zero and ageing populations risk higher taxes, analysts warn (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Hunt warned tax on shops will keep prices higher for longer (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Britain’s high streets risk becoming ‘looting ground’ for shoplifters, says John Lewis boss (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Dodgy statistics and even dodgier forecasts are making policy harder (www.telegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Apple braces for backlash after caving to EU demands on iPhone chargers (www.telegraph.co.uk)