Tuesday 29 May 2018

Company news, markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday

Treasury and Carney at war over Brexit

The Treasury and Bank of England have clashed over City of London regulation after Brexit, reports the Financial Times. While chancellor Philip Hammond wants to keep Britain close to the EU to ensure maximum access for City institutions, Mark Carney’s Bank of England is against any agreement that would leave it as "a rule taker". Relations on the issue are said to be "very, very bad".

Pret 'sold to German conglomerate for £1.5bn'

Pret a Manger is set to be sold for £1.5bn including debt, according to the Financial Times. Private equity owner Bridgepoint will reportedly sell the sandwich chain to German conglomerate JAB Holdings. Bridgepoint bought a majority stake all the way back in 2008 for £364m. Founded in 1986 as a single London outlet, Pret has expanded to around 500 stores across the world.

Government set to resume RBS sell-off

The government is set to sell a multibillion-pound stake in Royal Bank of Scotland, reports Sky News. The move would see the resumption of a privatisation that has been on hold for three years. Investors and City bankers have been ‎told to expect a disposal of part of taxpayers' 70.5% shareholding, potentially within a matter of days.

Drones set to give UK economy a £42bn boost

Drones could give British economy a £42bn boost by 2030, reports The Guardian. According to a report by PwC, wider use of unmanned aerial vehicles will create jobs and boost GDP by 2%. It predicts that 76,000 drones will be in UK skies by the end of the next decade for commercial or public use, saving billions in efficiencies.

Leading British games firm to float this week

Codemasters, a leading light in the British video games industry, will be valued at £280m when it floats on the Alternative Investment Market this week. The firm, which produces the official Formula One games, will raise £185m from the sale after pricing its shares at 200p. However, £159.9m will go to its Indian owner, Reliance Big Entertainment, which is cutting its stake to 30%.

Quote of the day… The problem with prosecco

"It is hard for a luxury product to make the leap into the mass market without losing its reputation for exclusivity." UHY Hacker Young partner James Simmonds on reports that we have reached peak prosecco.

THE NUMBERS... AT 0715 GMT

FTSE 100: up +0.18 to 7,730.28
Dow Jones: down -0.24 to 24,753.09
Dax: down -0.58 to 12,863.46
Cac 40: down -0.61 to 5,508.93
Nikkei: down -0.60 to 22,347.12
Hang Seng: down -0.66 to 30,590.07
US dollar: buys € 0.8599 and £0.751
Sterling: buys $ 1.3315 and € 1.145
Oil: $75.68 up +0.50