Proactive Investors -
- FTSE 100 falls 40 points
- Rightmove refuses takeover deadline request
- House prices jump by most in two years
A London IPO?!
Applied Nutrition has confirmed that it is planning to float in London, where the company is estimated to be valued at around £500 million.
Ahead of a potential initial public offering, the sports nutrition brand shared a summary of its latest accounts and said it will publish a registration document for a main market listing.
Chief executive Thomas Ryder said: "Since launching our first Applied Nutrition product just over ten years ago, we have demonstrated a consistent track record of delivering strong profitable growth, becoming a trusted, premium sports nutrition, health and wellness brand in an industry that continues to grow at pace."
He said the company is "only scratching the surface of our growth opportunity and this IPO positions us ideally for the next step of our development".
Chairman Andy Bell, founder and former boss of AJ Bell (LON:AJBA), said the flotation on the London Stock Exchange "would mark the next step in Applied Nutrition's journey to becoming the world's most trusted and innovative sports nutrition, health & wellness brand".
He said the company is "confident that a London-listing would further enhance our brand awareness and provide a platform for continued growth".
House prices should keep rising, says economist
The 0.7% monthly rise in Nationwide house prices suggests that August’s 0.2% fall "was just a blip and that the recent falls in mortgage rates are supporting house prices", says Alex Kerr at Capital Economics.
"And the further declines in swap rates in September suggest there is scope for mortgage rates to fall further and for house price growth to accelerate next year."
He notes that the gain in the Nationwide index was stronger than expectations, which were for a small rise of 0.2%, and meant that UK prices rose 0.8% in the third quarter, according to Nationwide prices, following up the flat second quarter.
"The increase in the pace of house price growth chimes with the 1.2% cumulative rise in the Halifax house price index in July and August and the signals from the latest RICS survey data."
Looking ahead, Kerr expects national house prices to rise gradually over the rest of this year, with price growth rebounding more strongly next year as mortgage rates continue to fall.
"Indeed, if we’re right that Bank Rate will be cut from 5.00% currently to 3.00% in early 2026, the resulting drop in mortgage rates should boost demand and house prices should gain more momentum next year. That may mean house prices grow by an above-consensus 5.0% y/y in the year to Q4 2025."
3i a target for short-seller
The FTSE 100 battled into positive territory for a few minutes but is back in the red again, down 10 points at just under 8,311.
Biggest faller is 3i (LON:III) Group PLC, down 3.5% after a report at the weekend that it is a target for short seller Shadowfall Capital and Research.
Shadowfall has taken a multimillion-pound short position against the blue-chip investment trust on the basis, it says, that the largest holding in its portfolio, European discount retailer Action, is overvalued.
3i has grown strongly thanks to its majority stake in Netherlands-headquartered Action from over a decade ago, which has expanded to almost 3,000 stores across 12 countries.
The Sunday Times had the scoop, with Shadowfall, known for its role in exposing fraud at Wirecard (LON:0O8X), arguing that Action is significantly overvalued.
Rightmove plays hardball with Murdoch
In a statement this morning, Rightmove PLC (LON:RMV) gave some more details to refute suitor REA Group's charges that it was not engaging enough, also adding that the two companies have held face-to-face meetings, and that it has consulted with a wide array of shareholders before rejecting the fourth proposal.
It has also upped its hardball game, by refusing a request to extend the put-up-or-shut-up (PUSU) deadline, which is 5pm today, and rebutting calls for a look at its books.
As well as stating that its board again concluded that the takeover bid is "unattractive and materially undervalues Rightmove", it revealed some more behind-the-scenes information about the recent weeks, where REA has expressed its frustration about a lack of engagement.
"The Rightmove and REA teams have known one another for many years, and have had numerous interactions, including discussions around strategy and best practice as recently as June.
"Rightmove has taken every phone call that REA has made since its interest was first made public, with a level of engagement which in Rightmove's view is customary and appropriate in the context of an unsolicited and unilateral series of approaches, made to a listed company, where the possible offeror is taking an incremental and iterative approach to price discovery."
Rightmove said it has declined requests from REA to grant due diligence, considering that there is enough information in the public domain and knowledge within REA "to put forward a proposal capable of recommendation" before the PUSU deadline.
FTSE opens lower
The FTSE 100 opened in the red, unexpectedly, on Monday, dropping around 15 points.
But it has quickly flattened off, now down just one point at just under 8,320.
Rightmove PLC is the biggest faller, down 3.7% as it unanimously rejected a fourth proposal from the Murdoch-owned REA Group.
House price surge
UK house prices rose at their fastest annual pace for two years in September, in a sign of the impact of falling mortgage rates on the property market.
House prices have climbed 0.7% since last month and 3.2% since last year, according to data from Nationwide, up from an annual rate of 2.4% in August and the fastest rate of growth since November 2022.
House prices, which now average £266,094, are now around 2% below the all-time highs reached in summer 2022.