Comparison site splashes out £40m on tech expert

There’s nothing like a bit of retail therapy when you’re feeling a bit down. That’s what comparison site

Money Supermarket has done as it waits for its shares to recover from last month’s growth warning.

It has splashed out £40m on fellow comparison site Decision Technologies, which owns Broadband Choices and Compare My Mobile, but it also writes the code that powers other sites, including Money supermarket.

Mark Lewis, the boss of Money supermarket, said: ‘ We said we would be working to take price comparison to users via sites they regularly visit on their mobiles, and Decision Tech’s business-tobusiness operation does that.’

Analysts at Investec said the move was a ‘smart decision’.

In a note to investors, it added: ‘It is consistent with management strategy to drive new market growth and accelerate growth in the core business.

‘Money supermarket shares have been weak recently, but we see this as a positive catalyst.’ shares ticked up 1.5pc, or 4.2p, to 286.8p.

The FTSE 100 edged up 0.17pc, or 11.87 points, to 7056.61, but it was the worst-performing major index in the first quarter. Analysts blamed the strengthening pound, which has hit the earnings of the index’s dollar earners. shares in FTSE 100 supermarket

Morrison were boosted by a glowing broker note.

Bernstein increased the supermarket’s target price from 235p to 245p, upgrading it to ‘outperform’ because of the recovery it has made since chief executive David Potts joined in 2015. Its shares climbed 2.4pc, or 5p, to 213.5p.

Intellectual property firm IP

Group topped the FTSE 250 on the back of solid results.

The firm, which invests in technology businesses, reported a £53.4m profit in 2017, up from a £14.8m loss the year before. Its shares were up by 6.7pc, or 7.2p, to 114.6p.

sticking with the FTSE 250, a broker cut did nothing to help the shares of doorstep lender

Provident Financial.

It has been a troubling year for Provident, which saw nearly £1.7bn wiped off its share price last August following a profit warning and the exit of former chief executive Peter Crook.

Its shares bounced back last month after it announced plans to raise £331m to pay off nearly £200m of fines and repair its damaged balance sheet.

But analysts at Berenberg, the German investment bank, are not rosy about the future, with the City watchdog expected to clamp down on providers of credit cards and high-cost credit.

As a result, the bank has downgraded Provident from ‘hold’ to ‘sell’. Berenberg said: ‘Although it is unlikely that any of the new regulation will be catastrophic, we do think that it has the potential to reduce both profitability and growth.’ shares ended the day down 0.1pc, or 0.8p, at 681.6p. AIM-listed oil and mining firm

Alba Mineral Resources asked shareholders for £750,000 to be pumped into its onshore oil and gas sites in the UK as well as mining sites in Greenland and Wales.

Its shares rose 15.7pc, or 0.06p, to 0.4p. Ground engineering contractor

Keller splashed out £64.1m, to buy Us counterpart Moretrench.

The deal means Keller will be ‘by far the most capable geotechnical solutions provider on the east coast’ of America, it said.

Its shares nudged up 1.5pc, or 13p, to 870p.

A strong update caused the shares of online trading platform

CMC Markets to boom. It said net operating income would be significantly above the same period last year, and its shares rose 9pc, or 14p, to 169.2p.