Grainger bullish despite threat from rent controls
RENT controls have been roundly condemned by most economists for making skyhigh prices even worse.
But that shows no sign of stopping London mayor Sadiq Khan, who has pledged to overhaul the market for tenants and cap prices if he is re-elected next year.
You’d be forgiven for assuming this is the kind of announcement that would worry big landlords – but not Grainger.
The company, which is the UK’s biggest owner of residential rental properties, has insisted Khan’s proposals would have a limited effect on its performance. It owns around 2,000 properties in London, out of its 8,600 or so in total.
Perhaps investors weren’t as convinced – or were perturbed by the company’s confirmation that it has refinanced £275m worth of debt, as its shares fell 0.9pc, or 2.2p, to 234.2p.
Meanwhile, UK airport restaurant operator SSP has managed to shrug off the crisis with Boeing’s 737 Max jet, despite it resulting in fewer airline passengers visiting the terminals where the firm’s branches are based.
The American plane maker’s entire fleet of the jets has been out of service since March, following two deadly plane crashes caused by a software glitch.
But SSP, which owns pastry shop Upper Crust, said its revenue grew 9pc between April and June.
Regional SSP executive Nick Inkster netted around £1.7m after selling 242,581 shares at 688p per share yesterday. SSP stock rose 2.9pc, or 20p, to 701p.
The FTSE 100 just managed to end the week on a high, closing up 0.21pc from where it started on Friday, or 15.61 points, at 7508.70. The FTSE 250 rose 0.44pc, or 86.53 points, to 19,621.66.
UK stock markets are usually far more swayed by what happens in the US, which has the biggest and most influential markets in the world, than by Europe. But swings in the performance of individual companies or sectors can still affect London stocks, particularly if the firms are close rivals.
Advertising giant WPP slid in a classic case of such contagion after its French rival Publicis cut its annual revenue growth target.
Publicis is struggling to revive sales in the US, where there is now rabid competition for advertising revenue from Facebook and Google. WPP’s stock closed down 2.2pc, or 21p, to 916.8p.
And in a much more dramatic European crossover effect, concerns that Italy’s government will collapse hit stocks across the continent and dragged on UK banks.
An already- fragile coalition between the anti- establishment Five Star movement and far-Right League party broke down into open conflict yesterday. Lloyds shed 1.1pc, or 0.6p, to 56.79p, while
Royal Bank of Scotland lost 1.1pc, or 2.6p, to close at 228.1p. Shares in self- storage firm Big
Yellow Group fell as it blamed Brexit for a slide in sales growth.
Revenue grew 4.4pc to £30.9m in the 12 weeks to June 30 compared with a year earlier. Chief executive James Gibson said the company, which has 92 24-hour self-storage sites, had been hit by uncertainty regarding Britain’s departure from the EU. Shares fell 2.1pc, or 22p, at 1009p.
Dunelm rose 1.7pc, or 15p, to 906.5p after chief executive Nick Wilkinson bought around £230,000 of stock and finance boss Laura Carr bought £96,000 worth.
Asos made a tentative recovery following a 23pc share price fall on Thursday, triggered by a profit warning. An update revealed that chief executive Nick Beighton bought almost £50,000 worth of shares. Data from IHS Markit showed hedge funds have made £150m by shorting Asos during the last year but yesterday it ended 3.5pc, or 74p up, at 2181p.