Aston Martin in reverse as Chinese change lane
ASTON Martin shares went back into reverse last night as rumours emerged that Chinese motoring group Geely is cooling on the idea of buying a stake in the James Bond car maker.
Formula 1 billionaire Lawrence Stroll is reported to be the frontrunner to help prop up the ailing luxury marque.
The City grapevine believes Canadian racing tycoon Stroll is in talks to invest around £200m into Aston, though Jefferies analysts believe it needs at least £400m to stay afloat.
The company is keeping tightlipped, though many are expecting an update as soon as next week. It follows a surprise profit warning earlier this month, which followed a glum December and what chief executive Andy Palmer described as a ‘very disappointing year’.
In the update, Aston said it was in talks with several ‘potential strategic investors’.
Shares in Aston skidded down 7.2pc, or 35p, to close at 452p. Private hospital group NMC
Health was on the up after it appointed a former high-profile FBI director to investigate allegations about its finances made in an attack by US hedge fund Muddy Waters last month.
Louis Freeh, a former FBI boss and federal judge, will examine the company’s debt levels, the value of its assets and alleged fraudulent activities. Relieved investors sent NMC Health’s stock up 8.1pc, or 116p, to 1557.5p.
And Finablr, which was founded by Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty, the same billionaire who founded NMC, also made gains.
Its shares rose 4.1pc, or 5.4p, to 136.4p after the boss of its foreign exchange arm Travelex broke his silence following a cyber attack that brought down the firm’s IT systems. The IT network used by Travelex’s in-store staff is up and running again, boss Tony D’Souza said, though other systems are still offline.
British Airways-owner IAG leapt 5.1pc, or 32.6p, to 671p after it scrapped a restriction on non-EU investors’ ability to buy its stock.
London’s premier indexes had a cheery end to the week, with the
FTSE 100 rising 0.9pc, or 64.75 points, to 7674.56 and the
FTSE 250 edging up 0.8pc, or 164.85 points, to 21886.08.
The Footsie, which is the most exposed to international events, was boosted by data released about China’s economy.
Elsewhere, shares in Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s owner The
Restaurant Group were knocked by a bruising downgrade from brokers at UBS.
They slapped a ‘sell’ recommendation on the struggling group’s stock, sending its shares down 7.5pc, or 11.1p, to 136p.3.
Festive demand for mince pies and Bisto gravy helped drive Premier Foods to higher sales in the third quarter.
The food manufacturer said sales increased 2.6pc for the 13 weeks to December 28 on the back of 3.6pc growth in its UK sales.
The company said this was particularly buoyed by leading bakery brand Mr Kipling, which saw sales jump 10pc.
But shares slid 2.3pc, or 1p, to 42p by the close.
Dixons Carphone shed 1.1pc, or 1.55p, to 144p ahead of a crucial update on Tuesday.
Investors will be nervously hoping the electronics specialist has outperformed its rivals during a difficult Christmas for retailers.
The update comes amid a testing period for electronics retail, with some of Dixons Carphone owned Currys PC World’s rivals in the sector posting declining sales over the Christmas period.
The Gym Group is hoping to cash in on the traditional New Year fitness boom, as bosses revealed that membership numbers jumped 9.7pc in the past year. Shares fell 0.7pc, or 2p, to 308p.