The house builder may have had a disappointing session on Thursday as investors baulked at margin erosion in the company’s half year report, but that also flushed out news that competitor Bellway made an approach regarding an all share acquisition for the company early last month. At the time of the proposal, a valuation of 253p per share was implied, a significant premium on the 213p closing price seen last night. Crest Nicholson shares have rallied as a result and are currently sitting up around 7.5% on the day.
A Q1 trading statement from Tesco was sufficient to see the company’s stock move to the top of the FTSE-100 leader board in the first hour of Friday’s trade. Gains were modest at around 2% in the first hour of trade, but with both sales and market share rising, there’s clearly enough for investors to be cheering. Another interesting note was a 12.5% increase in sales of the Finest range as shoppers continue to trade down from the premium stores.
The newly IPO’d computer firm Raspberry Pi saw its shares commence official trading on the main market of the London stock Exchange this morning, providing the valuation with yet another boost. Gains in the first hour of trade were as much as 16% before a modest retreat was seen, but against the IPO price of 280p, the fact gains are now in the region of 70% is certainly notable – either the dearth of London IPOs is unlocking pent up demand, or advisers have maybe lost the knack of pricing these deals well!
Headlines we expect on Monday
Mind Gym Final Results
This time last year Revenue £55m, Gross Profit Margin 88.4%, Cash at Bank £7.6m
