UKX

FTSE 100 Rises as Sainsbury Jumps, Oil Stocks Rise; Diageo Falls

1009 GMT - The FTSE 100 rises in morning trade, up 0.2% at 7773.77, led by strong gains for J Sainsbury after Bestway Group said it is acquiring a 3.45% holding in the U.K. supermarket, while higher crude prices boost heavyweight oil-linked stocks. Shares in Sainsbury rise 4.6%, while shares in peer Tesco are up 0.8%. Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, notes that Bestway's statement made clear that it's keen to build its stake in Sainsbury. Oil stocks BP and Shell rise 2.4% and 2.2% respectively as the price of a barrel of Brent crude rises 1.2% to $88.36. Fallers include Diageo, which drops 1.1% after the drinks maker announced a slowdown in first-half sales. (jessica.fleetham@wsj.com)

 
Companies News: 

Direct Line CEO Penny James Steps Down

Direct Line Insurance Group PLC said Friday that Chief Executive Penny James is stepping down from the role with immediate effect.

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Bestway Group Buys Around $240 Mln of Shares in J Sainsbury

Bestway Group Ltd. said Friday that it has bought or agreed to buy shares worth 3.45% of J Sainsbury PLC's issued share capital, or around 193.4 million pounds ($240.0 million).

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Superdry Cuts FY 2023 Profit Guidance After Swing to 1H Pretax Loss

Superdry PLC said Friday that it swung to a pretax loss in the first half of fiscal 2023 though revenue rose, and lowered its full-year profit outlook.

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On the Beach FY 2023 Year-to-Date Holiday Sales Up 68% Vs Year Earlier Period

On the Beach Group PLC said Friday that the total value of holidays sold for the fiscal year to date is 68% higher than the same period last year, with October to December bookings beating their year earlier comparatives.

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Avon Protection 1Q Revenue Rose, Says Order Pipeline is Strong

Avon Protection PLC said Friday that its first-quarter revenue rose and that it has a strong pipeline for its leading respiratory products.

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Paragon Banking 1Q New Lending Rose; Raises FY 2023 Interest Margin Guidance

Paragon Banking Group PLC on Friday said first-quarter new lending increased 22% on year and raised its net interest margin growth guidance for fiscal 2023.

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Faron Pharmaceuticals Raises EUR12 Mln via Share Placing

Faron Pharmaceuticals Oyj said Friday that it has raised 12 million euros ($13.1 million) via the share placing announced late Thursday.

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Treatt 1Q Sales Rose; Confident for Year Ahead

Treatt PLC said Friday that it has made a good start to fiscal 2023 with first-quarter sales rising in line with management expectations, and is confident for the year ahead.

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Stelrad Group to Report Record 2022 Adjusted Operating Profit

Stelrad Group PLC said Friday that it expects to report a record adjusted operating profit for 2022 on revenue that was boosted by the acquisition of DL Radiators from August.

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YouGov Sees FY 2023 Revenue In Line With Views

YouGov PLC on Friday said it expects to report full-year revenue in line with consensus after a resilient first-half performance given the tough macro environment.

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Motorpoint 9-Month Revenue Rose; Gross Profit Per Unit Missed Expectations

Motorpoint Group PLC said Friday that its revenue for the first three quarters of the year rose, helped by vehicle mix and price inflation, though gross profit per unit missed expectations and it expects to be negatively hit by macroeconomic factors.

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Boston International Raises GBP80,000 via Directors' Share Subscription

Boston International Holdings PLC said Friday that it has raised 80,000 pounds ($99,280) via a subscription of shares by four directors, including Chairman and Chief Executive Christopher Pitman.

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Lenta Names Vitaly Valkov as New Chief Commercial Officer

Lenta PLC said Friday that it has appointed Vitaly Valkov as chief commercial officer, effective from Thursday.

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Actual Experience Shares Rise as FY 2022 Pretax Loss Narrowed on Lower Costs

Shares of Actual Experience PLC rose Friday after the company said that its fiscal 2022 pretax loss narrowed on lower operating costs, though revenue fell.

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Amigo Shares Drop as Capital Raise Still Not Secured

Shares in Amigo Holdings PLC fell 20% on Friday after the company said it still hasn't secured a big enough investment commitment to support the capital raise it needs to complete by May 26 to avoid a wind-down of the business.

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Chesterfield Resources Shares Fall as Adeline Project Sale Collapses

Shares of Chesterfield Resources PLC fell as much as 22% on Friday after the company said that Pacton Gold Inc. has pulled out of the deal to buy the Adeline project as reported last October, without providing any explanation.

Contact: London NewsPlus; paul.larkins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 27, 2023 05:34 ET (10:34 GMT)

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