City broker downgrades Watches of Switzerland as US prices set to rise April 7, 2025 A City broker has downgraded its price target for Watches of Switzerland by a fifth, citing lower spending and higher prices as the retailer’s challenges. Peel Hunt downgraded the target price for the luxury watch firm from 500p to 400p. Shares in the retailer were trading at 335p as of midday on April 7, having [...]
Close Brothers shares soar past target price whilst FTSE 100 banks sink April 3, 2025 Shares in FTSE 250 lender Close Brothers rallied on Thursday morning whilst its banking rivals HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered tumbled. The lender made gains as high as ten per cent during early trading before consolidating around five percent, as the bank clawed back recent losses. Meanwhile, Standard Chartered led the FTSE 100 losses at [...]
Peel Hunt: London Stock Exchange requires ‘urgent’ support April 1, 2025 The UK’s capital markets require “urgent” support from the government, Peel Hunt has said, as the London Stock Exchange continues to be raided by private takeovers. While there have been 15 companies worth over £100m facing acquisition bids on the stock exchange since the start of 2025, not a single firm worth over £100m floated [...]
Close Brothers shares fluctuate as motor finance hearing kicks off April 1, 2025 Shares in FTSE 250 lender Close Brothers were volatile during early trading on Tuesday as the first day of the motor finance hearing kicked off. The bank was one of the FTSE’s top fallers as markets opened after it suffered a downgrade from City broker Peel Hunt. The broker said the “extent” of guidance downgrades [...]
Travis Perkins: Profit plunges as construction industry recovery remains sluggish April 1, 2025 Travis Perkins has reported a 99 per cent plunge in operating profit in 2024, after a torrid year for the Nottinghamshire-headquartered firm. The FTSE 250 building group reported an operating profit of £2m, down from £161m in 2023, after a 4.7 per cent revenue decline. Shares in the group fell 10.4 per cent in early [...]
Peel Hunt shares edge up as City broker cuts costs to reduce losses April 1, 2025 Shares in City broker Peel Hunt edged higher in early trades this morning after the company issued a positive trading update. The company said it anticipated revenue of £90m for the year ending 31 March 2025, an increase of five per cent from the previous year. The investment bank reported revenue of £85.5m in fiscal [...]
Yougov shares plummet after profit slumps March 31, 2025 Yougov’s shares plummeted six per cent this morning after the pollster revealed profit before tax had fallen 21 per cent over the last six months. While Yougov’s revenue jumped 34 per cent over the last six months, its underlying growth was just two per cent, it said in its interim results. This mismatch was because [...]
Playtech set to issue ‘beast of a dividend’ following Snaitech sale March 27, 2025 Gambling software firm Playtech is set to issue what analysts have described as a “beast of a dividend” later this year, as the sale of Snaitech reaches close to completion. Playtech agreed the sale of its Italian arm Snaitech to Flutter during last year for €2.3bn (£1.92bn), distributing most of the proceeds from the sale as a [...]
Vistry: Labour housing pledge to boost company despite profit slump March 26, 2025 Vistry’s share price has slumped five per cent this morning after halting its final dividend of the year, as the housebuilder’s chief described 2024 as a “challenging year” The FTSE 250 firm managed to meet the weak forecasts expected by the markets in its annual results, with profit before tax falling 35 per cent to [...]
UK board members brace for wave of takeover bids March 24, 2025 Non-executive directors of UK companies and bracing for a wave of takeover bids throughout 2025 as British firms face continual share price weakness. As many as 80 per cent of non-executive directors said that their companies are more vulnerable to a takeover bid, according to data from investment bank Peel Hunt. Last year, a host [...]