Proactive Investors -
- Blue-chip index 20 points lower at 7,975
- Gold falls from ATH as bitcoin rallies
- Revolut valuation surges
Blue chips stage a recovery
The FTSE 100 pared back some morning losses in early-afternoon trades, with the blue-chip index bouncing from an intraday low of 7,953 back to 7,976 at the time of writing.
Footsie still remains 19 points lower, dragged down by a selloff of oil supermajor stocks BP (LON:BP) and Shell (LON:RDSa) after Brent crude oil prices fell below $90 a barrel due to mounting tensions between Iran and Israel.
Revolut valuation priced high by Schroders
UK fintech group Revolut has had its implied valuation increased by 45% to $25.7 billion (£20.6 billion) by minor shareholder Schroders (LON:SDR), Bloomberg has reported.
A fund managed by Schroders wrote up its stake in the unlisted British payment disruptor from £5.44 million to £7.88 million.
Though only a minor stakeholder, it is a shot of good news as Revolut aims to reclaim its peak $33 billion valuation achieved in a major funding round in 2021.
The Schroders fund said Revolut had made “solid progress” on its expansion plans despite higher interest rates impacting high-growth companies in the past two years.
In March, Revolut boss Francesca Carlesi left the door open for a debut on the London Stock Exchange, though no concrete plans have been announced.
Per the latest Companies House filings, Revolut generated £744 million worth of revenues in the year ending 31 December 2022 on an 82% gross profit margin. Losses before tax exceeded £23 million.
Foxtons seeking a buyer
Foxtons Group PLC (LON:FOXT) shares added 1.5% today following weekend reports that it had asked adviser Rothschild to find a potential buyer after pressure from activist investors.
The London-based estate agent has been told to put itself up for sale by Canadian group Converium Capital and UK investor Milkwood, both of which own around 5% of the group.
According to the Sunday Times, Milkwood boss Rhys Sommerton believes a sale is the only way to “extract fair value” for the business.
The group’s pre-tax profits fell 34% to £7.9 million in the year to December 2023 after substantial one-off charges.
Though shares have bounced 40% higher these past 12 months, shareholders have lost almost 90% of their investments since the group’s 2013 IPO.
Back to the blue chips, the FTSE 100 remains 36 points lower at 7,959, largely due to a sell off of oil stocks after Brent crude prices fell below US$90 a barrel.
Bitcoin supported by Hong Kong spot-bitcoin ETF approvals
Hong Kong’s securities regulator has followed the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s lead by approving spot-bitcoin exchange-traded funds on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
The SEC’s approval in January preceded over $12 billion of net cash inflows into newly launched ETF products from the likes of BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), VanEck, Fidelity and Grayscale.
These approvals have supported bitcoin’s 57% year-to-date rally.
British watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority also moved to approve bitcoin ETNs (exchange-traded notes) in March.
Tim Bevan, chief executive at ETC Group, said: “Hong Kong approving spot ETFs soon after the announcement of the LSE reiterates the global ripple effect of the spot ETF approvals in the US.
“This is further confirmation that bitcoin is now an established investable asset amongst the traditional finance community globally and will create further demand pressure over time.”
Bevan said that bitcoin may continue to see some short-term volatility around the upcoming Halving events, but “we expect to see target price revisions for 2025 well in excess of $100k”.
The BTC/USD pair is up 1.5% to $66,643 at the time of writing, having added 2.7% on Sunday.