Pharma shares climb as firms lead the virus war

BRITAIN’S science and pharmaceuticals expertise was out in full force as a clutch of junior marketlisted firms made strides in fighting coronavirus.

Novacyt and Yourgene surged after inking a manufacturing deal that will help Novacyt step up production of tests for the disease.

Yourgene’s state-of-the-art facility in Manchester will initially make critical components - but could switch to making final versions of the tests if they need to ramp up production further.

Novacyt is based in France but it has a division in Southampton, called Primerdesign, that was an early mover in the race to design and manufacture a Covid-19 test.

Novacyt said last week it had received orders worth £8.7m for its US Food and Drug Administration-approved tests, one of which is for research-use only and one of which can diagnose patients within hours.

Shares in Novacyt, which also signed a distribution agreement with a firm called Bruker, jumped 7.3pc, or 11.5p, to 169p, while Yourgene’s stock soared 31.3pc, or 3.75p, to 15.75p. Novacyt is up 1200pc so far this year. Fellow AIM-listed firm Intelligent Ultrasound was rewarded by investors for rolling out a module for its simulators that will train frontline clinical staff to recognise what lungs infected by Covid-19 could look like in an ultrasound.

Intelligent Ultrasound, whose shares rose 3pc, or 0.25p, to 8.5p, has made the module free for existing hospital customers..

And Ergomed – another AIM minnow – jumped 8.6pc, or 28p, to 355p after seeing high demand for its coronavirus research services.

It is already assisting at a hospital in Bergamo, the epicentre of

Italy’s outbreak. The group also reported revenue rose 26pc in 2019 to £68.3m.

But pharmaceuticals firms weren’t the only companies rolling up their sleeves and helping.

FTSE 250-listed student accommodation provider Unite Group pledged to offer occupants to forego rent if they want to return home for the rest of the academic year – and students with nowhere to go over the summer will be offered free accommodation. The move will hit Unite – whose shares rose 2pc, or 15.5p, to 799p – by up to £125m. European vodka maker Stock

Spirits (up 8.7pc, or 12.8p, to 160p) began manufacturing hand sanitiser at its Czech production facility, which it is donating to the government, and is in talks to do the same in Poland.

Rentokil is training 2,500 disinfectant specialists, but its stock slumped 8.2pc, or 30.3p, to 340.1p after it withdrew its financial guidance for the year, scrapped its dividend and cut its top people’s pay.

Several other firms said they were seeing increased demand for some of their services as a result of the pandemic. Recruiter

Staffline (up 26.1pc, or 4.3p, to 20.8p) has seen demand surge for staff in the food supply chain, despite other sectors plunging. Trucking and logistics groups

Wincanton (down 1.3pc, or 3p, to 227p) and Clipper Logistics (up 15.6pc, or 21p, to 156p) both reported a spike in demand as panic-buying Britons meant supermarkets were scrambling to keep their shelves stocked.

Elsewhere, sofa seller DFS froze new recruitment, training and said it will cut marketing as the virus hit trading.

Shareholders welcomed the move, with its stock soaring 23pc, or 26.2p, to 140p.

The wider market also made gains, building on a roaring rally on Tuesday as traders waited for a £2 trillion stimulus package to pass in the US.

The FTSE 100 rose 4.5pc, or 242.19 points, to 5688.2, while the

FTSE 250 closed 4.6pc higher, up 647.18 points, at 14819.91.