FTSE 100 opened flat as traders started to wind down ahead of the four-day Queen’s Jubilee celebrations. There were a few deals but the blue chip index edged down 5 to 7,601.
Sports Direct owner Frasers Group has bought Missguided for £20mln after it collapsed into administration. The online fashion retailer suffered from supply chain problems, rising freight costs and growing competition from rivals.
Shop prices grew at their fastest rate in May in over a decade. Retail price inflation was 2.8%, spurred on by accelerating food inflation, with experts warning it will get “worse before it gets better.”
Tullow Oil and Capricorn Energy have agreed to merge to create “a leading African energy company with a material and diversified asset base and a portfolio of investment opportunities delivering visible production growth.” Capricorn is valued at £657mln through the deal and its shareholders will own 47% of the enlarged company.
The chief executive of DWS, the asset manager controlled by Deutsche Bank, has resigned following a second police raid on its offices in Germany in a month on greenwashing allegations. US authorities are already investigating the bank for similar accusations.
Open Orphan said its hVIVO subsidiary has inked a £14.7mln influenza deal with an existing client. The unnamed global top-five pharma company has engaged the contract research group to carry out a characterisation study before testing its vaccine on healthy volunteers.
Among the small caps, Feedback expects revenue for the year just ended to be “materially ahead” of market expectations after its strong interim trading momentum continued into the second half. Progress with its flagship product Bleepa as well as additional technology licence fees arising from its partnership with Imaging Engineering are driving sales.