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* The Hut Group gains on giving up founder's 'golden share'
* Playtech soars on $2.89 billion takeover deal
* Top UK CFOs expect persistent supply chain pressures
* FTSE 100 down 0.4%, FTSE 250 off 0.1%
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar, Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S
Oct 18 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 slipped on Monday as
investors ramped up bets of a quicker interest rate hike by the
Bank of England, while gaming company Playtech soared after a
2.1-billion-pound takeover offer by Australia's Aristocrat
Leisure.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.4% lower,
marking its worst session in nearly two weeks, with healthcare
and travel-related shares leading
declines.
Investors bet that the BoE plans back-to-back interest rate
rises for its November and December meetings, with more to come
next year, after BoE Governor Andrew Bailey signalled the
central bank would act to curb inflation expectations.
"Markets are pricing in tighter policy because the energy
crunch could prompt a dramatic U-turn on interest rate policy at
the Bank of England," said Laith Khalaf, head of investment
analysis at AJ Bell.
"There does certainly seem to have been a significant shift
in rhetoric coming from the Bank, but there may yet be some
prevailing factors which push an interest rate rise into next
year."
Softbank-backed online retailer and tech group, The Hut
Group, rose 20.5% after saying it would remove its
founder's "golden share" and seek a place on the premium segment
of the main stock market.
A survey of chief financial officers at top British
companies found that they expect supply chain problems in the UK
to persist for at least another year and consumer price
inflation to still be above 2.5% in two years' time.
Supply worries and rising energy costs have slowed the pace
of gains on the FTSE 100 recently and led the benchmark index to
underperform developed market peers in Europe and the United
States.
Investor sentiment also took a hit after data showed China's
economy grew more slowly than expected in the third quarter,
clouding the global recovery outlook.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index inched 0.1%
lower with airlines Wizz Air Holdings and Easyjet
being the top decliners.
Gaming software supplier Playtech Plc soared 58.1%
to become the biggest gainer on the mid-cap index, after
Australia's Aristocrat Leisure Ltd said it will buy the
company for 2.1 billion pounds ($2.89 billion).
British transport group National Express and its
takeover target Stagecoach Group dropped 3.8% and 3.2%,
respectively, after the regulator extended the deadline until
Nov. 16 for National Express to make a firm offer.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Amal S; editing by
Uttaresh.V and Andrew Heavens)
