Gambling crackdown wipes £1bn off bookies
MORE than £1.1bn has been wiped off the value of Britain’s biggest betting firms as the Government prepares to clamp down on highly addictive gambling machines.
Government sources say Chancellor Philip Hammond is ready to slash the maximum stakes for fixed odds betting terminals – known as the ‘ crack cocaine’ of the gambling industry – from £100 to £2.
The move would go much further than the Gambling Commission’s recommendation last month of a stake limit of up to £30.
The Chancellor is now thought to be looking at ways to fill the £400m hole in public finances that a £2 stake limit would cause.
The speculation decimated the shares of bookmakers, indicating that many investors feel they are no longer worth a punt.
William Hill took the biggest hit, with its shares down 12.7pc, or 42.7p, to 293.4p. It was followed by Ladbrokes owner GVC (down 6pc, or 58.5p, to 912.5p), Paddy Power (down 4.9pc, or 355p, to 6965p), gambling software firm Playtech (down 2.9pc, or 23.8p, to 800p) and
888 (down 2.5pc, or 7.2p, to 275.6p). The FTSE 100 ended the day 0.36pc higher, or 26.53 points, at 7425.40, while the FTSE 250 was down 0.60pc, or 121.06 points, at 20,195.31.
Sticking with the FTSE 100, the back-and-forth between Shire and Takeda continues.
Rare diseases drug maker Shire says it is considering a fourth offer from Japanese rival Takeda that values it at £42.8bn. Shire shares rose 3.4pc, or 130p, to 3930p.
Qinetiq was one of the FTSE 250’s biggest gainers after agreeing a £61.3m deal to buy EIS Aircraft Operations, which provides flight training for the German armed forces and the US Air Force in Europe.
The deal will accelerate Qinetiq’s ‘ international growth strategy’, the firm said. Shares hopped 2.9pc, or 6.5p, to 231.7p.
Meggitt, the aerospace engineering firm, has sold subsidiary Precision Micro to LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group, for £22.5m in cash.
Precision Micro specialises in photo chemical etching for the automotive and medical sectors.
Meggitt says the deal is part of its strategy to focus on markets where there is a ‘greater potential for growth’.
Meggitt shares dipped 0.3pc, or 1.3p, to 460.5p.
Spanish drug maker Laboratorios Farmaceuticos Rovi has given
Hikma Pharmaceuticals the exclusive rights to market and distribute enoxaparin, its generic treatment for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Despite the news, Hikma shares slid 2.3pc, or 29p, to 1229p. Paragon Banking Group’s shares edged down 0.4pc, or 2p, to 522p after Investec cut the FTSE 250 firm’s rating from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’.
Analysts at Liberum cut gift card seller Card Factory from ‘buy’ to ‘hold’ but raised its target price from 210p to 240p. Shares slumped 3.6pc, or 8.6p, to 231.8p.
In the small caps, conference and exhibition organiser ITE
Group sold its Malaysian events business to rival UBM for £4.2m.
The subsidiary, Trade Link ITE, owns Metaltech, a metalworking exhibition in the South East Asian country. ITE shares hopped 2.9pc, or 4.6p, to 151.4p.
A £23.2m loss in 2017 caused shares in betting technology firm
Sportech to dive. But despite the loss, analysts backed the struggling betting firm to take advantage of the potential legalisation of sports betting in the US, which could provide rich pickings for European operators.
Giving the firm a ‘ hold’ rating, broker Peel Hunt said: ‘We believe the upside potential from US sports betting offsets the issues with the underlying business.’ Shares dived 5.5pc, or 3.6p, to 61.4p.