BUSINESS LIVE: UK retail sales rose in August; Ashtead Group names new CFO; Michelmersh's profits slump

(PA) – The level of dealmaking among firms across the UK dropped to the lowest level in four years in June amid a slow recovery of business confidence, according to new official data.

Provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed there were 93 completed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in June this year.

This was the lowest monthly level since May 2020, during the height of the Covid pandemic, when there were just 58 deals struck.

The data tracks the number of M&A worth at least £1million involving UK businesses, meaning when one company takes control of another company, giving an indication of financial strength and confidence across the market.

The number of deals completed between April and June totalled 385, lower than the 463 completed between January and March.

The ONS also found that the value of dealmaking dropped across all areas over the latest quarter.

Foreign takeovers of British firms fell to £5billion, from £5.6billion over the first three months of the year.

A notable deal was the acquisition of logistics firm Wincanton by US rival GXO Logistics, worth about £760million.

Just before close, the FTSE 100 was 0.77% down at 8,299.38.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.82% lower at 20,808.94.

Toyota has been forced to recall more than 43,000 of their trucks over defects that could pose a major crash risk.

The automaker has recalled 43,395 of its 2023-2024 Sequoia Hybrids after identifying a potential issue with the vehicles’ tow hitches.

Watches of Switzerland revealed it was ‘on track’ to meet expectation for the 2025 financial year amid a recovery in demand for luxury watches and jewellery.

The luxury retailer and UK’s biggest seller of Rolex, revealed that ‘trading for the first 18 weeks of the financial year has been ‘in line’ with expectations.

Ryanair and Wizz Air achieved record passenger demand last month as people shrugged off cost-of-living pressures to enjoy foreign holidays.

A total of 20.5 million people travelled with Dublin-based Ryanair in August, an 8 per cent increase on the same month in 2023.

(PA) – Johnson Service Group has cheered a jump in sales over the first half of the year, as it expanded its luxury hotel services operations with a deal to buy a rival.

Bosses at the textile rental and cleaning business hailed a “strong” performance as it also reported a significant rise in profits.

The London-listed group told shareholders on Tuesday that revenues grew by 13.5 per cent to £244.1million for the first half of 2024.

Organic revenues rose by 5.7 per cent as it also benefited from acquisitions.

Johnson said sales volumes increased across its hotel, restaurant and catering arm despite “unseasonably poor weather” in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, workwear trade “remained stable” during the half-year, with the company pointing towards improving sales momentum from new and existing customers.

The firm reported that pre-tax profits grew by 38.5 per cent to £18.5million for the six-month period.

High Street shops have said that next month’s Budget is a ‘golden opportunity’ to fix the broken business rates system.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which lobbies on behalf of retailers, implored Chancellor Rachel Reeves to put replacing the property tax for shops at the top of her agenda.

As Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy has an enormous role to play in nurturing and policing Britain’s vibrant creative sector.

The UK’s output of film and music production, gaming, architecture and sports broadcasting is a vast money spinner which generates up to £126billion a year of value to the economy.

Rolls-Royce saw nearly £3billion wiped off its value yesterday after a Hong Kong airline identified an engine component failure with the share price rebounding today

Cathay Pacific Airways revealed one of its Airbus A350 aircraft was forced to return to Hong Kong during a flight to Zurich yesterday after discovering the issue.

The butcher, greengrocer and milkman were once key features of everyday life in Britain.

But in a world of 24-hour supermarkets and processed food, they risk fading into extinction.

Hewlett Packard has confirmed it plans to continue with its claim for up to £3billion in damages against the estate of Mike Lynch after his death in last month’s superyacht disaster.

The US tech giant won a High Court civil claim against the tech tycoon in 2022, accusing him and his former finance director.

Harrods has been training staff to intervene if shoppers or customers are sexually harassed, amid a worrying crime epidemic in shops.

The London department store said a policy was introduced last year for all employees to receive compulsory training on the issue.

Ashtead Group said it expects yearly results to be ‘in line’ with expectations despite a dip in first quarter profits.

The equipment rental company, which leases machinery like battery-powered saws and forklift trucks, saw its profit before tax fall 7 per cent – or $544million (£414million) – for the first quarter to 31 July.

UK retail sales rose last month as warm weather encouraged Britons to buy food for social occasions, new figures revealed.

The British Retail Consortium revealed retail sales volumes increased by an annual rate of 1 per cent in the four weeks ending 24 August, compared to 4.1 per cent growth in August 2023.

Car makers are being forced to build vehicles drivers ‘don’t want’ to meet green targets, one of the country’s biggest dealership chains has warned.

Under rules brought in by the previous Tory administration, 22 per cent of new cars sold next year must be zero emission. This threshold is set to rise to 80 per cent in 2030.

The crisis engulfing Germany’s economy deepened yesterday as carmaker Volkswagen said it could close down factories in the country for the first time in its 87-year history.

VW said major cost-cutting measures were needed – as separate figures revealed the eurozone’s wider manufacturing sector was ‘going downhill and fast’.

Listening to a chief executive deliver a corporate report on his quarterly earnings is not most people’s idea of a great party.

Except when the company concerned is Nvidia, the US computer chip designer otherwise known as The Most Important Stock on Planet Earth.

Retail sales volumes increased by an annual rate of 1% in August, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Growth was driven by warm weather and the Paris Olympics encouraging Britons to purchase food for social occasions, as well as stronger demand for clothing, health and beauty products.

Linda Ellett, UK Head of Consumer, Retail & Leisure at KPMG, said: Consumer sentiment is gradually starting to improve, but there still remains some nervousness around potential tax rises and the cost of putting the heating back on when the cooler weather arrives.

The fragile nature of consumer confidence means shoppers will continue to be driven by price and value, moving from brand to brand to find the best price benefit and we are likely to see retailers using promotional activity to seek to win at this.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the markets this morning:

The FTSE 100 has opened a touch higher as investors digest several corporate releases plus fresh retail data that suggests consumer spending power is just about sticking in there.

BRC data covering August showed a meagre 1% rise in non-food retail sales and Barclays card spending showed a similar rise, as consumers gear up for next month’s energy bill increase and the potential for tax hikes from Labour’s first budget.

US markets took a day off yesterday, with futures trading suggesting a weaker opening later today. There are some tough seasonal trends ahead, as September has historically been a poor month for the S&P 500.

Couple that with political and geopolitical uncertainty, and investors are likely in for a choppy month. US non-farm payroll figures on Friday are the highlight of the week, which could have a meaningful impact on the size of the first Fed cut later this month.