Ascential Share News (ASCL)

(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------BP, up 1.8%, Royal Dutch Shell 'A', up 1.0%, Shell 'B', up 1.1%. The oil majors were tracking spot oil prices higher, quoted at USD63.86 a barrel, up from USD62.32 late Friday. Oil rose on Monday amid political tensions in the Persian Gulf, following Iran's seizure of a UK-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf on Friday. Midcap oil stocks Premier Oil, Cairn Energy, Hunting and Tullow Oil were up 4.3%, 4.2%, 2.7% and 2.5% respectively. ----------J Sainsbury, up 1.9%. Barclays raised the supermarket chain to Overweight from Equal Weight, saying its shares represent good value following the failed merger attempt with Walmart-owned Asda earlier this year.----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------Whitbread, down 4.5%. The hospitality firm completed its GBP2 billion shareholder payout via the purchase of 40 million shares at 4,972 pence per share. The Premier Inn hotel chain owner said this marks the successful completion of its capital return programme with a total of GBP2.5 billion returned, including the tender offer and previous share buyback programme. Whitbread said the tender offer was oversubscribed and no further capital returns are planned.----------FTSE 250 - WINNERS----------Ted Baker, up 11%. Shares in the fashion retailer surged after the Sunday Times newspaper reported that the company's founder Ray Kelvin could back a private equity buyout of the company. The newspaper reported that Kelvin, who resigned as chief executive over claims he presided over a culture of "forced hugging", would support a buyout that would take the company private under the existing management. Kelvin owns around a third of Ted Baker.----------Ascential, up 2.9%. The business events company reported a "strong" revenue rise in line with expectations in the first half of the 2019 financial year, following growth across all of its divisions. In the six months to June 30, the company's pretax profit rose 32% year-on-year to GBP30.5 million from GBP23.1 million on a revenue of GBP236.2 million. Its adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose 21% year-on-year to GBP76.7 million from GBP63.3 million. In a separate announcement, the company confirmed that it has agreed to acquire 35% of Jumpshot Inc, the marketing analytics subsidiary of Avast. The deal is expected to be finalised "no later than January 2021" and Ascential will also have an option to take a majority ownership in Jumpshot. Cybersecurity provider Avast said that Ascential will pay USD60.8 million in cash for the stake. Avast was up 1.5%.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Jersey Oil & Gas, up 53%. The oil and gas company said it has been awarded three blocks in a UK offshore licencing round, including on the Buchan oil field and J2 discovery. The company was awarded acreage containing more than 100 million barrels of oil, including Buchan, and will have a 100% working interest and operate all three blocks. The blocks were awarded under the Oil & Gas Authority's 31st supplementary offshore licencing round. The blocks are contiguous with Jersey Oil's existing interest in licence P2170, which includes the Verbier discovery. Including P2170, Jersey Oil has an estimated more than 100 million barrels of oil equivalent discovered mean recoverable resources, as well as an identified mean prospective resource of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Regency Mines, down 41%. The natural resource development and investment company announced the completion of a refinancing, which will allow it to concentrate on developing its assets. In June 2018, Regency announced a USD1.6 million loan to fund a joint venture with Legacy Hill Resources, focused on coal assets in the US. At the same time, it said it would be refinancing some loan notes. These notes, worth USD1.3 million, will be repaid over a five year period, with interest of 10% per year with a 2% fee on repayment. They also have a 4.5% implementation fee. Regency will pay the lower of 10% of USD65,000, through either a fundraise or issuance of shares. ----------