Boost for computer firm whose shares doubled
COMPUTER software company
Cerillion climbed as it announced a contract win.
One year on from its stock market debut, shares have nearly doubled from their placing price of 76p. The firm, which provides software to telecoms companies, won a tender with a European operator, initially worth £2.1m.
Cerillion will supply customer relationship management and billing software and provide an ongoing managed service to operate it. Shares gained 1.7pc, or 2.5p, to 147p.
Tullow Oil tumbled after it revealed plans for a rights issue in a bid to reduce its debt.
A rights issue is when existing shareholders in a firm are offered the chance to buy additional shares at a discounted rate.
The oil and gas group has proposed a 25-for-49 share deal. The issue price of 130p is a discount of more than 45pc to where shares closed on Thursday. The company is looking to raise £607m.
Chief executive Aidan Heavey said: ‘ Tullow and its staff have worked exceptionally hard over the past three years to re-set the business in the face of the toughest conditions I have ever known in the oil sector.’
Since 2014 the firm has reduced staff levels by around 44pc. It is targeting savings of £485m by mid-2018. Now it wants to start the process of reducing its debt.
Tullow reported net debt of £3.9bn at the end of 2016. The firm said it would also use the proceeds to invest in drilling opportunities and exploration.
It added that many of its own directors intended to participate in the rights issue. However, shares plummeted 14.8pc, or 35p, to 202.3p.
The FTSE 100 set yet another record closing high. The blue-chip index finished up 0.12pc, or 9.01 points, at 7424.96.
The highest riser of the day was insurance group Admiral Group after a positive broker rating. Shares leapt 1.9pc, or 37p, to 1945p.
Recruitment firm SThree slipped as UK hiring slowed. The business said gross profit in the three months to February 28 had been flat as uncertainty about Brexit continued and conditions remained tough in the banking and finance sectors.
Permanent staff placements fell 14pc in the quarter, while contract positions were up 7pc.
SThree said trading in Europe and the US helped performance – around 80pc of profit comes from outside the UK. The group said that with ongoing political and economic uncertainty, it was managing the business prudently, investing in its best-performing teams and keeping a firm control on costs. Shares dropped 2.7pc, or 8.5p, to 307p.
A share placing sent Gym Group spiralling down. Some of the lowcost gym company’s largest investors are to cut their stake in a placing of 39.1m shares – some 30.5pc of the total issued.
Phoenix Equity Partners and Bridges Ventures, the two largest shareholders in the firm with a 20.4pc and 10.1pc stake respectively, will have no holding left after the placing which is set to settle on March 22.
Shares were placed to institutional investors at 175p each, raising a total of £68.5m. The pair have been reducing their holding in Gym Group for some time now.
Bridges cut its stake from 13.9pc to 10.1pc in September. Shares tumbled 7pc, or 13p, to 172p.
Stellar Diamonds advanced as it was reported the 13th largest diamond ever found had been discovered in Sierra Leone, where it operates. The 709-carat sparkler was discovered by a pastor. Shares climbed 2.4pc, or 0.12p, to 5.25p.