Mothercare plummets as FTSE climbs

Mothercare shares tanked after the group announced plans to place its UK retail business in administration, putting around 2,500 jobs at risk.

The children’s retailer, which has 79 UK stores, said it will file a notice of intent to appoint administrators for the UK business.

Mothercare UK, which has around 500 fulltime staff and 2,000 part-time employees, is set to follow the likes of Bonmarche, Jack Wills and Karen Millen, which have gone bust in recent months. Shares in the parent company dived by 25.8 per cent to 8.38p.

Meanwhile the FTSE 100 ended the day in positive territory after a lift in sentiment in global equity markets. London’s blue-chip index rose 67.27 points to 7,369.69 by the market close.

David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: “The trading relationship between the US and the EU is moving in the right direction as Wilbur Ross, the US commerce secretary, said there might not be a need to impose tariffs on EU vehicles.”

In company news, UK gambling firms saw their shares dive after a cross-party group of MPS called for an overhaul of online gambling to protect vulnerable people.

The all-party parliamentary group for gambling related harm called for a limit on maximum bets for online slot machines, similar to a recent cap introduced for fixed-odds betting terminals.

Ladbrokes-owner GVC lost 10.5 per cent to 94p, Betfair-owner Flutter Entertainment shed 3.4 per cent to 7,932p, and William Hill shares slid 12.7 per cent to 176.25p.