(Bloomberg) -- Here’s the key business news from London-listed companies this morning.
Inflation: UK inflation rose more than expected last month, hitting 10.1% in July from a year earlier, intensifying a squeeze on consumers and adding to pressure for action from the government and Bank of England.
Persimmon Plc: The homebuilder’s average private sales rate declined 11% in the first seven weeks of the second half of this year, even as house price increases offset cost inflation of up to 10%.
- The company said the “UK housing market is strong” with demand exceeding supply, relatively low interest rates, and “good” mortgage availability
Cineworld Group Plc: The cinema chain is considering a “comprehensive deleveraging transaction” after a “limited” film slate failed to draw moviegoers through its doors.
- That slump in film titles, which is expected to continue until November, will hit the company’s trading and liquidity position in the near term, the cinema chain said
ASOS Plc: The fashion company’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Mat Dunn will leave the company as it “restructures” its executive team.
- Meanwhile, fast-fashion rival Boohoo Plc has taken just over a 7% stake in Revolution Beauty Group Ltd in a deal that builds on its previous relationship with the company
Outside The City
Rishi Sunak has ruled out freezing the energy price cap if he becomes prime minister, while Liz Truss warned against “throwing money” at a short-term fix for the looming winter bills crisis. The statements come after Labour leader Keir Starmer said he would freeze the cap at £1,971 a year.
British hospitality chiefs are planning to raise menu prices by 6% over the next year as the rising cost of energy, food and labor weighs on businesses.
That’s as budget grocery chain Iceland Foods will allow customers to pay for their groceries in installments, becoming one of the first supermarkets to enter the buy-now-pay-later sector.
In Case You Missed It
City of London workers looking to save money may want to embrace the office over winter as the cost of working from home soars alongside energy bills.
And Elon Musk — who has a track record of using Twitter to make jokes — said he was joking about buying Manchester United Plc after an earlier tweet.
Looking Ahead
Helios Towers Plc is among the companies due to update the market tomorrow. The telecom-mast operator might not report the same strong level of tenancy expansion it reported last quarter, but it could still lift its forecast for the year, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst John Davies says.
The Readout with Allegra Stratton will be back from its summer break on Aug. 30. In the meantime, here’s what Bloomberg journalists are reading this summer.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
Advertisement