Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Restaurant food ordering platform Just Eat Takeaway.com will employ 1,500 people in a new UK customer service site as it brings jobs back from India and Bulgaria, PA reports Wednesday.
Just Eat said it will invest GBP100 million in the region over the next five years, with staff working partly from home and partly from its new Sunderland-based office in the north east of England.
UK Managing Director Andrew Kenny said that the company would shoulder the extra cost of bringing the staff in-house because it allowed Just Eat to provide better service.
Much of its customer service had been run from Bulgaria and India, but bosses have already seen an increase in customer satisfaction among those who dealt with the 300 people already hired in Sunderland.
"Our experience of operating this model across numerous other geographies around the world, shows that the overall service that we provide to both our customers and restaurants increases very meaningfully," he said.
"We're already seeing a very material increase in customer satisfaction scores from the agents that we already have in Sunderland."
Bringing the jobs into the company will also allow Just Eat to respond more quickly to feedback and patterns, he said.
The workers who join Just Eat in the north east will enter a hybrid model, where they spend time working both from home and in the office.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: marginally higher, up 1.55 points at 7,127.33
----------
Hang Seng: down 0.4% at 25,621.47
Nikkei 225: closed marginally lower, down 7.30 points at 27,724.80
DJIA: closed up 30.55 points, or 0.1%, at 35,366.26
S&P 500: closed up 0.2% at 4,486.23
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 0.5% at 15,019.80
----------
EUR: flat at USD1.1744 (USD1.1747)
GBP: flat at USD1.3718 (USD1.3721)
USD: flat at JPY109.70 (JPY109.67)
Gold: down at USD1,795.20 per ounce (USD1,806.44)
Oil (Brent): firm at USD71.00 a barrel (USD70.73)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come
1000 CEST Germany Ifo business climate index
0700 EDT US MBA weekly mortgage applications survey
0830 EDT US advance report on durable goods
1030 EDT US EIA weekly petroleum status report
----------
The value of the private rented sector in Britain rose 5.8% in the past year to GBP1.4 trillion. House prices have soared 9.9% between the start of the pandemic and March this year, helped by the stamp duty holiday, according to a report by Shawbrook Bank. This included a 5.6% rise in the value of the average buy-to let property across the UK to December 2020, sitting at approximately GBP258,900 for each home. But despite the rise in value, the size of the private rented sector shrank over the past year with some landlords choosing to leave the market. It also found that many tenants made a change, opting to return to their family homes during the pandemic, to leave cities in search of more space, or to make the most of the stamp duty holiday and become homeowners themselves. The report comes after new figures on Tuesday showed house sales in the UK slumped by nearly two thirds last month as activity cooled after the end of the full stamp duty holiday. HM Revenue & Customs said an estimated 82,110 residential property sales took place in July, down 62% on June's record levels.
----------
Afghans on Wednesday faced an increasingly desperate race to escape life under the Taliban after President Joe Biden confirmed US-led evacuations will end next week. More than 70,000 people have already been evacuated, but huge crowds remain outside Kabul airport hoping to flee the threat of reprisals and repression in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Biden said Tuesday the US would stick to his August 31 deadline to completely withdraw its troops despite warnings from European allies that not all vulnerable Afghans would able to leave by then. "The sooner we can finish, the better...each day of operations brings added risk to our troops," Biden said Tuesday. "We are currently on the pace to finish by August 31."
----------
Japan moved Wednesday to expand a virus state of emergency to eight more regions, a day after the Paralympic opening ceremony, as rising infections put hospitals under pressure. The step comes with summer school holidays ending and top infection experts suggesting delaying the start of classes to reduce infection risks. The country has been recording more than 20,000 new infections a day in recent weeks, and in urban areas like Tokyo patients in serious condition have been left waiting for hours or travelling long distances in ambulances to find available hospital beds.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
JEFFERIES INITIATES ADMIRAL GROUP WITH 'UNDERPERFORM' - TARGET 2600 PENCE
----------
JEFFERIES INITIATES DIRECT LINE WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 390 PENCE
----------
DEUTSCHE BANK INITIATES NEXT PLC WITH 'BUY' - TARGET 9200 PENCE
----------
DEUTSCHE BANK INITIATES AB FOODS WITH 'HOLD' - TARGET 2200 PENCE
----------
BOFA CUTS J SAINSBURY) TO 'UNDERPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 300 (280) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Grafton Group reported a record first half performance, buoyed by upbeat trading from its Woodie's DIY, home and garden retail business in Ireland. For the six months to June 30, revenue was GBP1.03 billion, up 46% from GBP703.7 million last year. Pretax profit was GBP142.9 million, almost five times higher than GBP29.5 million a year ago. Grafton also posted record adjusted operating profit of GBP142.4 for the period, up from GBP46.9 million. Grafton declared an interim dividend of 8.5 pence per share, which the company said reflects its strong profitability and cashflow from operations. The company paid no interim dividend for 2020, though it paid a 14.5p final dividend for the year. Looking ahead, Grafton said the overall outlook is positive following the successful rollout of vaccines in the four countries where it operates. In addition, Dublin-based Grafton maintained its full-year guidance and expects operating profit of GBP240 million in 2021. It posted operating profit of GBP159.7 million in 2020.
----------
Great Portland Estates said it has pre-let 121,800 square foot at 50 Finsbury Square in London to telecommunications company Inmarsat Global. Refurbishment will extend the office floor plates within the existing envelope of the building, create a large reception as well as improve the retail, leisure and amenity offer, Great Portland Estates said. Practical completion is scheduled for late 2022.
----------
COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Maidenhead, Berkshire-based construction firm Costain Group said it is on course for to deliver full-year results in line with its expectations. For the six months to June 30, Costain posted a pretax profit of GBP9.1 million, swinging from GBP92.3 million loss last year on revenue of GBP556.8 million, up from GBP459.9 million. Adjusted pretax profit was GBP9.4 million, up from GBP3.8 million a year before. Costain did not declare an interim dividend but said it will continue to review the timing of the reinstatement of dividends. "We continue to be successful in winning new contracts, building on last year's strong platform and making the most of the significant market opportunities. Our clients across all our chosen markets are continuing to progress their investment plans and to prioritise investment to meet their needs for decarbonisation, digitisation, levelling up and performance improvement," said Chief Executive Officer Alex Vaughan. "We have good visibility on the completion of contracts for the remainder of this year which gives us confidence in delivering full year results in line with our expectations."
----------
Wednesday's Shareholder Meetings
AfriTin Mining Ltd - AGM
Custodian REIT PLC - AGM
Creightons PLC - AGM
James Latham PLC - AGM
Oxford Technology VCT - AGM
Oxford Technology 3 VCT - AGM
Oxford Technology 4 VCT - AGM
Pineapple Power Corporation PLC - AGM
Rural Broadband Solutions PLC - AGM
Semper Fortis Esports PLC - AGM
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
