THE DAILY BRIEFING
■ PHARMA DEAL Drugs giant AstraZeneca has struck a £309m deal with Takeda Pharmaceutical to create a treatment for Parkinson’s disease. The FTSE 100 firm has joined forces with the Japanese drugs giant to bring the Medi1341 antibody to market, with clinical trials set for later this year.
■ PRICES DIP House prices slipped to an average £210,495 this month, according to building society Nationwide – down 0.1pc on July’s figure.
They are 2.1pc higher than a year earlier, a fall from the 2.9pc annual growth clocked up last month.
■ AIRLINE DEFEAT Airline Ryanair has admitted it has little hope of stopping Lufthansa taking over parts of insolvent rival Air Berlin in what it claims is a ‘conspiracy’.
David O’Brien, the airline’s chief commercial officer, said: ‘ We have made a complaint to the German cartel office and the European Commission. We shall see what happens but we are not entirely hopeful.’
■ CHEAPER GOODS The average price of goods in British shops is 0.3pc lower than it was a year ago in a boost to millions of families, according to the British Retail Consortium. Non-food products are 1.3pc lower while food prices are up 1.3pc.
■ CONFIDENCE BOOST Confidence across Britain’s high-growth companies is at a record high, as firms capitalise on the weak pound to stimulate exports.
The firms, dubbed Gazelles, have been targeting new markets in Europe and the US, with more than eight in 10 saying they expect revenue growth of 10pc or more, up from 44pc last year.
■ EXPANSION BID Stationery design firm IG Design is ramping up its expansion plans after a strong first quarter. The group, which designs gifts, stationery and creative play products, said its order book is yet again at record levels.
■ NEW LENDER Business lender Redwood Bank is open for business, four months after regulators gave it a banking licence. It is focused on Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Warrington.
■ SOFTWARE SALE British patent software firm CPA Global is being bought by US investment firm Leonard Green for £2.4bn.
It was yesterday unclear what impact the sale would have on CPA’s 2,000 employees, who work across four continents.