Burberry shares soar but FTSE 100 falls

Shares in Burberry soared as the luxury fashion house prepares its defences against a potential takeover bid, according to market reports.

An unknown investor has built up a stake of close to 5% in the brand famous for its trench coats, prompting senior management to seek help from its financial advisers.

Shares lifted by more than 6%, hovering at five-year highs.

However, the FTSE 100 Index fell 57 points to 6,125.4, slipping for the second session in a row following disappointing overnight data that showed a 25% fall in Chinese exports last month.

The data comes as China’s National People’s Congress, now under way in Beijing, has just cut the country’s 2016 growth target, predicting a “battle for growth”.

Germany’s Dax and the Cac 40 in France were both around 1% lower. In New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down slightly.

Brent crude fell 2.3% to just under $40 a barrel of oil.

The pound was a cent down against the US dollar at 1.42

Sterling was also a cent down against the euro, at 1.29.

A model wearing Burberry Kisses Lip Velvet in Oxblood.