Ocado sinks as grocers fear new internet threat

OCADO was one of the biggest fallers as investors got to grips with a trolley full of supermarket news.

Sainsbury’s trading today is expected to reveal the retailer is under increasing pressure from a growing consumer trend towards convenience stores and a rise of online rivals.

Data from Kantar Worldpanel shows Sainsbury’s sales have declined 1.2pc while its market share has fallen to 16.2pc as discounter retailers Aldi and Lidl continue to gain popularity.

And like Ocado it is facing upheaval from the threats posed by the rise of online shopping - with the market awash with rumours in recent months that Amazon may soon be able to stake its claim for a slice of business.

Ocado fell back 3.7pc, or 9.9p, to 259.4p. Sainsbury’s shares fell 0.4pc, or 0.9p, to 246.7p. Residential lettings franchise Belvoir moved up the ladder after it announced the acquisition of Northwood.The purchase of the group will make Belvoir the largest property franchise group in the UK, with a total of 301 outlets.

Belvoir is initially paying £11.5m by Holly Black for Northwood, but that figure could rise to £22m over the next two years. The acquisition of Northwood’s 86 outlets will bring the number of properties Belvoir has under management up to 54,000. Belvoir will part-fund the purchase through a share placing of £2.5m.

Some £6m of the purchase will come from new bank loans. Last year Aim-listed Belvoir bought two franchise groups, Newton Fallowell and Goodchilds. Belvoir shares jumped 3.8pc, or 4.5p, to 121.5p.

Equipment rental company VP ratcheted up after it published its final results.

Profit before tax climbed 11pc to £29.8m in the year ended March 31. Investors are set for a total dividend pay-out of 18.85p for the year, up 14pc on last year’s. VP says it is entering the new financial year in good shape and more progress should be made in the coming year, particularly after two UK acquisitions in recent months.

The firm also purchased TR Pty, an audio visual equipment rentals firm which operates in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, back in April. Shares advanced 3.2pc, or 22.5p, to 732.5p.

The FTSE 100 ticked up just 0.18pc, or 11.13 points to 6284.53 yesterday.

Shell was the biggest climber of the day, gaining 3.1pc, or 52.5p, to 1754.5p as the oil price crossed $51 a barrel for the first time in six months. Evraz advanced 10.2pc, or 11.8p, to 127.3p, making it the highest riser on the All Share. Antofagasta eased off 2.2pc, or 9.9p, to 440.1p after the previous day’s steep gains though.

Architecture and interior design firm Aukett Swanke sunk on a disappointing update.

While revenues had climbed 9pc to £10m in the six months to the end of March, profit before tax had almost halved compared to the same period last year from £815,000 to £417,000. The interim dividend of 0.07p a share is down more than a third on the 0.11p paid out in 2015, while earnings per share have fallen from 0.43p to 0.17p.

Chief executive Nicholas Thompson said the EU referendum had impacted results and was likely to do so for the full financial year. Shares fell 18pc, or 1.12p, to 5.12p.

SyQic provides live TV and ondemand video content on mobile phones and the internet through its Korean Cool2vu video streaming website and Yoomob video app and website. In April it revealed it was in discussions with Hong-Kong firm MMV Investments and its own chief executive Jamal Hassim about being acquired.

SyQic had suspended its shares from trading on the Aim market just two days before, following a trading update in which it said an announcement was pending.

MMV and Hassim were given until May 18 to make an offer or retract its interest. As the date arrived, an extension until June 7 was granted.

Yesterday SyQic said the pair would have until June 21 to make an offer. A year ago SyQic’s shares were 47.6p. Yesterday they slid 10.8pc, or 2p, to 16.5p.