Hi, I’m Leo from Bloomberg’s UK Breaking News team, catching you up on this morning’s business stories.
There’s no perfect time for an investor day — but property portal Rightmove Plc seems to have chosen well. Shares jumped as much as 6.5% after Rightmove raised its guidance in a statement ahead of today’s event with shareholders.
Both estate agent subscriptions and listings of newly-built homes remained stable in recent months, the London-based firm said. But what do Rightmove’s results tell us about the broader housing market? Markets Today’s Sam Unsted gives you his snap analysis further down.
In London’s West End, things seem to be going well too. Landlord Shaftesbury Capital Plc, the owner of swathes of tourist hot-spots from Covent Garden to Chinatown, said this morning it saw a strong start to the Christmas period, with customer sales tracking 12% ahead of last year.
What’s your take? Ping me on X, LinkedIn or drop me an email at lkehnscherpe@bloomberg.net.
Key Business News
E-commerce company THG Plc offered to buy Australia’s Adore Beauty. The cosmetics retailer rejected the bid, which would have been worth around £60 million, saying it undervalued the company. Manchester-based THG has had a bumpy ride since its 2020 listing due to governance concerns, price surges for whey — a key ingredient in its protein shakes — and losses at its Ingenuity business. Its shares have lost over 80% of their value since THG went public.
GSK Plc said its antibody drug Blenrep helped patients live longer without their blood cancer worsening in a late-stage study. Blenrep is part of GSK’s push in cancer treatments but it suffered a setback last year when US regulators withdrew its clearance after a clinical trial failure.
Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak denied his economic plans are about to deliver a fresh bout of UK austerity, even as the official fiscal watchdog warned his tax-cutting strategy assumes a significant squeeze on public services. “Any commentary or accusation that’s what’s happening is just simply unfounded,” the prime minister said in a Bloomberg TV interview late Sunday.
Sunak was speaking before today’s Global Investment Summit in London, which will see many of the world’s highest-profile investors, CEOs and financiers attending. The government said it’s unveiling £29.5 billion of new investment for the summit, though at least £10 billion of the investment had already been announced.
Markets Today’s Take
Rightmove’s results are strong, but they may not provide much to cheer for the broader UK housing market. The upgraded outlook for the property portal is driven by a higher average revenue per advertiser — its key metric. It said that was being fuelled by new home developers, who are spending more on Rightmove search and listing products to get their homes sold.
That points to a housing market where developers are having to scramble and redouble efforts to get homes sold, chiming with what we have seen in recent months in the increased use of incentives to get potential buyers to push the button.
— Sam Unsted
For more news and analysis throughout the day, follow Bloomberg UK’s Markets Today blog.
What’s Next?
EasyJet Plc’s full-year results tomorrow will be scanned for comments on how demand for winter holidays is holding up after updates from both JET2 Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc disappointed investors earlier this month.