MySale flops on market debut after a share pricing faux pas June 16, 2014 MYSALE, the online fashion retailer 25 per cent owned by Sir Philip Green’s wife Tina, tanked on its market debut yesterday after an error on its listing price. Shares were priced at 226p but were inadvertently listed at 2.26p, sparking automated selling of the stock as trading programmes reacted to the lowball price by selling [...]
London Report: Economic data puts focus on UK housing market and growth June 9, 2014 ECONOMIC data out this week is set to shine a light on the UK’s steady return to health after the recession. The Office for National Statistics will tomorrow release April’s manufacturing data, which is forecast to show a 0.3 per cent rise in output. Construction output data – also likely to show a rise for [...]
Flotation frenzy adds new faces to 2014 Rich List May 19, 2014 THIS year’s swathe of initial public offerings (IPOs) has brought some fresh meat to the Sunday Times Rich List, with the founders of Boohoo.com, AO.com and King all joining the monied pack. AO.com founder John Roberts enters the list at 246th, with a wealth stack of £410m. Boohoo.com founder Mahmud Kamani is a new entry [...]
Saga nudges past issue price on its first day May 29, 2014 Over-50s insurance-to-holiday provider Saga yesterday joined a small band of newly floated firms trading above their issuance stock price, as it began trading in London. The group, which was listed on the stock market at 185p, rose to 188p during the day but ended up barely above its initial price, closing at 185.25p. Saga, which [...]
Retailer share prices are crashing. Here’s what you need to know about the sell-off June 5, 2014 An unexpected profit warning from online retailer Asos has investors very worried about the health of the sector generally. Asos shares opened more than 40 per cent lower after it announced that it had been forced to slash its full-year profit margin guidance. The key paragraph comes from CEO Nick Robertson: The resultant higher mix [...]
Zeus Capital top of the board for junior flotations April 14, 2014 LONDON’S northern rival Manchester has emerged as a burgeoning scene for equity capital markets, with a Salford-based advisory rocketing to the top of the league for junior market listed flotations for the first time. Zeus Capital has soared to the top of the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) adviser rankings for new firms coming to market, [...]
Short sellers in dash to bet on Saga share price fall June 9, 2014 HEDGE funds are queuing up to bet on a further fall in the share price of newly-floated companies like Saga and AO World amid renewed scepticism in the new issues market, statistics show. Short sellers, who borrow shares from other investors to make gains when the price falls, currently have close to one per cent [...]
Shoe Zone putting its best foot forward with a £50m stock float April 28, 2014 DISCOUNT footwear chain Shoe Zone has become the latest retailer queuing up to float on the London Stock Exchange this year. The family-run chain, which runs 554 stores in the UK and Ireland, is looking to raise up to £50m in an initial public offering (IPO) on London’s Alternative Investment Market next month that is [...]
Inside Track: The new issues market drifts into ever choppier waters April 10, 2014 THIS was the week when a sudden reality check intervened in the new issues market. It came after a blissful start to the year that has seen share prices popping, books covered multiple times and investors cashing out most profitably. The big losers earlier this week were the technology stocks, with shares in AO World, [...]
London Report: FTSE in slight slip but Asos crashes on Aim June 5, 2014 THE FTSE 100 yesterday ended lower, as the country’s equities were hit by a stronger pound in the wake of a round of aggressive stimulus measures from the European Central Bank. As the ECB cut its main lending rate to 0.15 per cent from 0.25 per cent – and the interest rate on its deposit [...]