Funding Circle back on track with £3.4bn loans
ONLINE lending platform
Funding Circle was on the rise after revealing it now manages a hefty £3.4bn worth of loans.
Shares climbed 5pc, or 15.5p, to 326p, providing some relief for shareholders who have lost out since the stock was listed in London at 440p in October.
The company takes in money from investors and lends it to small businesses, and has backed firms ranging from adventure golf bars to bicycle retailers.
It lent another £644m in the first three months of the year, including £419m to UK firms, taking its loan book to £3.4bn, up 44pc on a year earlier.
Revenues surged 40pc year-onyear, and in 2019 investors who choose to lend on Funding Circle are predicted to bag returns of between 5pc and 8.5pc.
Cyber security giant Avast, which was one of the largest technology firms to ever list on the London Stock Exchange when it floated last year, was also stacking up the gains. Its revenue for the first quarter was 6.1pc higher than in the same period last year at £ 162.6m, while profit climbed 5.4pc to £90.3m.
Chief executive Vince Steckler is due to step down later this year, and investors will be hoping his replacement can continue along the same tracks. Shares climbed 5.8pc, or 16.4p, to 300.6p.
At the other end of the FTSE 250, oil and gas services company
Petrofac plunged as the aftereffects of a bribery scandal began to be felt.
Iraq’s oil ministry ended negotiations with Petrofac – which helps build and service oil and gas drilling rigs – over a major project. The ministry cited the bribery issues, after a former employee admitted wrongdoing to the UK’s Serious Fraud Office this year. Shares slid 10.8pc, or 56.4p, to 467.4p. Drug makers dragged on the
FTSE 100, which ended down 0.2pc or 11.44 points, at 7459.88, after healthcare reform proposals from US Democratic presidential candidates sparked a sell-off. Hikma Pharmaceuticals was down 2.7pc, or 46.5p, at 1657.5p, false hip maker Smith & Nephew fell 1.9pc, or 28p, to 1444.5p and Astrazeneca dipped 1.7pc, or 99p, to 5815p.
One firm which edged closer to becoming a FTSE 100 constituent was Aveva, the engineering and industrial software business.
The sectors it serves are increasingly moving on to computerised systems, which boosted Aveva’s profitability last year. Shares were up 3pc, or 98p, to 3342p, taking its market value to £5.2bn.
Professional translating business RWS Holdings was speaking the right language to investors, announcing record revenues of £172.3m in the first half, a 23pc rise on the year before. Profit is expected to be no less than £35.5m – 24pc higher than last year.
Its Moravia branch, which helps global businesses adapt their products for local languages and cultures, did particularly well, after strong demand from ‘ top technology clients’. Shares climbed 7.2pc, or 39p, to 581p.
PZ Cussons, which owns the Carex soap, Imperial Lather shower gel and St Tropez fake tan brands, was stirring up some excitement among investors as it said that its full-year profits would be in line with expectations.
It is set to give a further update on its strategic initiatives, which include limiting exposure to Nigeria and focusing on Europe and Asia, in June. Shares edged up 3.1pc, or 6p, to 198.8p.
Meanwhile Yourgene Health, which makes products to test children while still in the womb for Down’s syndrome, climbed 7.9pc, or 0.88p, to 12p as it raised more money than it hoped for to buy cystic fibrosis test-manufacturer Elucigene.