Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 down 58 points at 7,380
- Rising oil price renews fears of rise inflation
- Bridgepoint buys ECP in £835 million deal
NatWest set to appoint Rick Haythornthwaite as new chair
Rick Haythornthwaite, the City grandee who has chaired companies including Centrica (LON:CNA) and Network (LON:NETW) Rail, is being lined up as the new chairman of NatWest Group (LON:NWG) in the wake of the row about the de-banking of Nigel Farage, according to Sky News.
Sky News has learnt that Mr Haythornthwaite, who currently chairs Ocado (LON:OCDO) and the AA, is expected to be appointed as Sir Howard Davies's successor in the coming days.
EXCLUSIVE: Rick Haythornthwaite, the former MasterCard chairman, is being lined up as the new chairman of NatWest Group, the taxpayer-backed bank. He will replace Sir Howard Davies, who will leave next year after the controversy over the Nigel Farage debanking scandal. More soon.— Mark Kleinman (@MarkKleinmanSky) September 6, 2023
City sources said that an announcement could come as early as Wednesday following the disclosure of his prospective appointment, Sky said.
Haythornthwaite is among Britain's most experienced businesspeople, having led a string of companies, including MasterCard International.
Housebuilding continues to contract, S&P
UK construction saw a mild expansion in activity in August, according to survey data, but the slump in the housebuilding sector continued.
The S&P Global/CIPS UK construction purchasing managers' index fell to 50.8 points in August, from 51.7 in July, but remained above the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction.
S&P Global, noted "divergent trends" across the three main surveyed categories. Commercial building expanded at a "robust" pace, with a PMI of 54.2, while civil engineering grew, but at a somewhat slower pace, with a PMI of 54.2.
But, housebuilding continued to contract, with a PMI of 40.7, the second-fastest downturn since May 2020.
"Survey respondents widely commented on subdued market conditions and a headwind to activity from cutbacks to new build projects," S&P Global said.
"Resilient demand for commercial work and infrastructure projects are helping to keep the construction sector in expansion mode for now, but the survey's forward-looking indicators worsened in August," warned S&P Global Market Intelligence economics director Tim Moore.
New orders fell at the fastest pace in over three years as respondents cited concerns over the macroeconomic outlook and the effects of high interest rates. The degree of positive sentiment was the lowest recorded since the beginning of 2023.
Bridgepoint swoops for ECP in £835 million deal
Bridgepoint Group PLC (LON:BPTB) is to buy Energy Capital Partners Holdings LP with an upfront enterprise value of £835 million
This comprises 235 million of newly issued Bridgepoint shares, £233 million of cash, and £179 million of ECP's existing debt.
Bridgepoint said the newly combined platform will span private equity, infrastructure and credit with offices across Europe, North America and Asiaadds and create a €57 billion global private markets asset manager.
The deal will be accretive for Bridgepoint shareholders from the day of closing across fee-related earnings, Ebitda and net income per share
Brigdepoint said the transaction accelerates the enlarged group's growth ambitions and significantly diversifies its income streams.
UK economy set to flatline says BCC
The UK economy is set to flatline for the next six months, but it will ‘feel a lot’ like a full-blown recession for millions.
That is the view of the British Chambers of Commerce which thinks economic activity in the UK’s ‘fragile economy’ will remain very weak throughout 2024 and 2025.
The BCC expects the next two quarters to flatline, leading to overall growth of 0.4% for the year.
????️@realVickyPryce: "The BCC forecast shows the UK economy is teetering on the edge of a recession. But the fact is, that with growth predicted to hover so close to zero for three years, it will still feel a lot like one for most people and businesses."????https://t.co/Equ88oE3hZ
— BCC (@britishchambers) September 6, 2023
This means the UK economy remains on course to avoid a technical recession, but growth is likely to remain so feeble that it will be hard to spot the difference, the BCC said.
It has also slashed its forecast for the next two years, as the economy is hit by rising inflation and high interest rates which squeeze disposable income and household spending.
The UK economy expected to grow by just 0.3% in 2024 (down from a previous forecast of 0.6%), rising to 0.7% in 2025 (down from 1%).
The BCC said: "Consistently low economic growth of this nature is comparable to previous periods of economic shocks and recessions such as the oil crises of the 1970s and financial crash of 2008."