THE DAILY BRIEFING

CASH BID

Outsourcer Capita is planning to sell off up to six or seven of its businesses in a bid to raise cash and prevent a collapse similar to Carillion. more than £1bn was wiped off Capita’s value in January after it issued a profit warning and boss Jonathan lewis said it needed a major overhaul.

SHARE SALE

Investment firm AJ Bell is considering a £500m listing on the london Stock exchange, giving its 172,000 customers the chance to buy shares and cash in on the float. The listing is expected later this year in a bid to raise the 23-year-old company’s profile.

BUILDER BOOM

northern housebuilder Avant Homes is aiming to double the number of homes it builds to 4,000 per year by 2023. In a trading update the builder said it was on track to increase full-year revenues by 25pc ahead of annual results for the year to April 27.

LENDER LISTING

Peer-to-peer lending firm Funding Circle has hired four banks to help with plans to float on the london Stock exchange. merrill lynch, Goldman Sachs, morgan Stanley and numis are said to be leading the listing worth £2bn.

REVERSE BET

Hedge Funds are shorting the AA after a share price crash of 70pc over the past year, making it the second-most shorted stock on the london Stock exchange. Short- sellers hoping to make a killing are betting its shares will sink further.

VIRTUAL FLOAT

Virtual reality firm VR Education Holdings will join AIm today after raising £6m to develop its virtual reality learning scheme for the education sector. It has partnered with Oxford university and the BBC to provide its educational programmes.

CHIP TAKEOVER

Silicon Valley giant Intel is eyeing a £72.2bn bid for rival microchip firm Broadcom as it fights to become the dominant player in the smartphone market. The plans come after chip maker Qualcomm rejected an £84bn bid from Broadcom.