FTSE 100 Live: Wage growth dents rate cut hopes, Vodafone shares rally

Greggs Plans Franchise Expansion As Sales Soar

Greggs is getting ready to strengthen its connections with its major franchise partners. The famous bakery in Britain has announced that it intends to establish numerous new locations in significant transport areas such as petrol and rail stations.

The enterprise based in London declared that it established 64 new shops from the beginning of the year, with roughly 25% being operated via franchise, and intends to inaugurate up to 160 shops by the conclusion of the year. The sales that exclude the effect of newly launched stores climbed by 7.4% to a total of £693 million.

The leader of Greggs, Roisin Currie, stated that Asda has been their largest franchise collaborator thus far, with stands in their grocery stores and gas stations, as well as in the forecourts of EG Group and Rontec.

She stated to the Standard that our plan is to make ourselves accessible to our clients at any place they prefer to purchase from us.

The products that customers buy while they are out and about are identical to what they would buy in a physical store.

At the moment, we possess 16 individuals who have partnered with us through franchising and we are optimistic about having additional prospects within the following years.

Bid For £333M To Take IQGeo Private In Transatlantic Tech Sector

A booming company in the technology industry in London is currently undergoing a process of being acquired by a private equity company from across the Atlantic, with a price tag amounting to millions.

The well-known American private equity firm KKR has acquired IQGeo, a company that offers software powering modern telecommunications networks, paying a total sum of £333 million.

The offer to buy all the shares with cash is worth 480p per individual share. Yesterday, the stock finished trading at 405p. However, the stock price surged by 65p, which is more than 16% of its value, and closed at 463p today.

According to the announcement of the bid, the premium offer is about 48% higher than the average price of the stock over the past year, which was weighted by volume, at 325p.

KKR announced today that they have identified a chance to expedite IQGeo's shift to a business model that is focused on software subscriptions, as well as guide the direction for IQGeo's upcoming product plans through private ownership.

According to the statement, IQGeo's industry is progressing quickly due to significant changes and improvements happening in fiber and grid infrastructure. These changes aim to achieve national connectivity and sustainability objectives.

Anglo American Announces Major Changes, FTSE 100 Stable

Anglo American, the company that was aimed for a takeover, has declared today that it will withdraw from its current diamond, platinum, and coal mining operations. This decision marks a major and unprecedented shift in the company's strategy.

The unexpected strategy is being implemented by Anglo in an effort to persuade its shareholders of its ability to function independently. This follows the recent rejection of an enhanced offer of £34 billion from BHP, an Australian company.

Anglo is of the opinion that it can attain considerable worth by concentrating on a streamlined collection of first-rate copper and top-quality iron ore properties.

Anglo has planned to sell its share in the De Beers diamond enterprise and look for a collaborator for the immense Woodsmith potash project in North Yorkshire as part of its strategy.

The stocks of Anglo went down by 2%, specifically 60.5p, which brought its current price to 2646.5p. This shows a slight decrease in the additional cost offered by BHP ever since they expressed their desire to acquire the company last month.

Anglo's downfall occurred during a strong trading day for the FTSE 100, thanks to the substantial contributions of major players HSBC and BP, resulting in a 14.20 point increase for the index, bringing it to 8429.19.

The stocks of DCC experienced a significant decline due to a recent report that showed a minor decrease in their yearly earnings, which amounted to £423.7 million. DCC, which has a presence in the healthcare, energy, and technology sectors, is headquartered in Dublin.

To celebrate 30 years of growth, the company increased its dividend by 5%. However, its shares fell by 5% (or 285p to 5620p). This decrease wiped out the considerable gains seen in the previous month.

The FTSE 250 index increased by 8.80 points and reached 20,569.14. Hochschild Mining also went up by 2p to 159.8p as it announced the successful initiation of commercial production at its Mara Rosa gold mine located in Brazil.

Angling Direct, a retailer of fishing equipment, had a positive start to its financial year and saw its annual profit increase to £1.5 million. As a result, its share price went up by 2.3p to 37p among the smaller companies in the market.

Vodafone Bracing For Loss Of 4M+ Customers

Today, Vodafone announced that it anticipates losing more than 4 million customers in Germany due to regulatory changes in their biggest market. This loss is predicted to cost them 400 million euros.

The business located in Paddington has stated that it predicts keeping only half of its 8.5 million TV customers who live in multi-dwelling units once new laws regarding these contracts are enforced in July. These customers currently bring in an estimated 800 million euros per year for the business.

Margherita Della Valle, the CEO of Vodafone, stated that they had been expecting the regulatory alterations to occur and that their organization was ready to adjust to them.

She told the Standard that this year will involve a period of change. She also mentioned that the German branch of the business generates approximately 40% of the company's revenue and is poised for growth despite the loss of the TV contract.

In Germany, we have a dedicated team that is committed to increasing expansion in various sectors.

Bitcoin Drop Keeps FTSE Flat

After one hour of trading in London today, the FTSE remains unchanged while the value of Bitcoin has dropped by nearly 2% compared to yesterday.

Let's take a glimpse at the essential data of your market.

Vodafone's Shares Rise 3% Post-results; FTSE 100 Stagnant

Vodafone is leading the way in the FTSE 100 index, as the previously largest company in London has seen a notable rise of 3%, or an increase of 2p to reach 72p. This marks the highest level that Vodafone has reached since December.

Margherita Della Valle, the top leader of the company, stated that the group did better than predicted during the fiscal year, with a 6.3% increase in service revenue.

BT Group's stock experienced a 1.3p increase and is now valued at 110.25p in anticipation of its forthcoming results on Thursday. Other prominent companies, such as HSBC, Centrica, and BP, also saw their stock prices increase in the blue-chip market.

Flutter Entertainment experienced a 3% decrease on the fallers board following its first quarter update, while DCC, a Dublin-based conglomerate, also experienced a retreat after its annual results were released. However, despite the decline in share price, DCC increased its dividend by 5%, which marks 30 years of consecutive growth.

The FTSE 100 and 250 indices are currently near their starting points at 8415 and 20,561, respectively.

Wage Growth Dampens Rate Cut Hope

According to Capital Economics, the report on wage growth released today is possibly too high and might not be what the Bank of England is hoping for. This may cause policymakers to feel less comfortable about reducing interest rates in the upcoming month of June.

Although the job market has become less strict, the rate of average earnings over the past three months remained at 5.7% in March, which was higher than the predicted rate of 5.5%.

According to the consultation, the Bank will keep a watchful eye on the figures for April's pay settlement (anticipated to be released later this month) to determine if the decrease in wage growth will persist in the next few months.

The decrease in employment during the three-month period ending in March was lower than what was anticipated, with a total of 178,000 people losing their jobs. Despite this, the unemployment rate still increased as predicted, going up from 4.2% to 4.3%.

Marston's Sees Sales Rebound, Operating Profit Increase

Marston's announced today that their 1,400 pubs have seen an increase in sales and operating profit has also gone up, thanks in part to their largely freehold pub estate.

The pub chain made a profit of £52.7 million, which is an increase from the £43.1 million they made in the first half of the year until March 30. The company mentioned that they experienced excellent progress in sales of both food and drinks, with a more than 7% rise in comparable sales. This rate of growth is higher than the general market's sales.

The company that manages more than 1,000 pubs reported an increase in underlying margins from 10.6% to 12.3%.

According to CEO Justin Platt, the prospects for the next half of the year are looking positive. He mentioned that there are several important sporting events that people cannot afford to miss. Also, the pub gardens have been greatly improved and the food menus are still as popular as ever. Therefore, it is expected that the pubs will be a hit this summer.

"Europe Right-Sizing Sinks Vodafone's Profit"

Vodafone experienced a decline in profits of 75% between March of last year and this year due to a variety of deals that the telecommunications company has been making as it adapts its business within Europe.

This company has recently sold off its Spain and Italy branches while also intending to merge with Three in the United Kingdom. The firm has reported that its operational earnings decreased by 74.6% to €3.7 billion. This decline is mainly due to the previous fiscal year's business sales, notably the €8.6 billion gain from selling Vantage Towers.

The company stated that it experienced positive, natural growth in service revenue amounting to 6.3%. Additionally, its business division, which helps fuel growth, had a revenue growth of 5.4% during the last quarter.

The CEO of Vodafone, Margherita Della Valle, revealed that a year ago she shared her vision to develop Vodafone by focusing on expanding their business in Europe. Since then, Vodafone has completed various transactions and is now seeing progress in all markets, both in Europe and Africa. However, there is still more work to do as Vodafone will be investing more in improving their customer experience, upgrading operations in Germany, and increasing momentum in Business. Through simplifying their operations, Vodafone is dedicated to completely transforming their company for future growth.

Surging Wages Exceed Predictions, Unemployment Rises

According to a new report from the Office for National Statistics, the unemployment rate in the UK has risen slightly to 4.3% for the period of January to March.

In the latest quarter, the rate of economic inactivity for individuals between 16 to 64 years old was assessed at 22.1%. This marks a growth from the previous period.

The average regular earnings of employees went up by 6% every year. If you add in the bonuses, the increase was 5.7%. These numbers were greater than what the City predicted.