HDT.L Share News (HDT)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Standard Life Friday said it is launching a financial advice business across the UK, bolstered by the acquisition of Skipton Building Society's wealth management firm Pearson Jones, in response to the big changes in pensions that it expects to lead to a surge in demand for pension planning and retirement product advice.

The company currently offers its products through independent financial advisers, and will continue to do that, but will also expand its own service that offers online and over-the-phone products with teams of face-to-face advisers looking to satisfy what it thinks will be seen as an "essential service" by a generation of individuals.

New pensions rules coming into force in the UK from the beginning of April remove the traditional requirement for individuals to buy annuities with their pension pots and give them the freedom to invest in other areas. The rise of defined contribution pension schemes in the place of defined benefit schemes is also driving up demand for advice.

"The growth of the advice business will be accelerated through the acquisition of progressive financial advice firms which align well with our operating model. This will enable Standard Life to tap into the proven expertise and professionalism in the advice market," the company said, suggesting further acquisitions in the space.

The acquisition of Pearson Jones is expected to complete in the second quarter. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, was made for an undisclosed sum.

The face of the new UK high-street is about to change, and get slightly more pricey, after Poundland Group snapped up rival 99p Stores in a GBP55 million cash and shares deal.

Poundland said it will pay GBP47.5 million in cash for its fellow high-street discounter, along with a further GBP7.5 million in shares.

The deal includes 99p Stores' network of 251 stores, which trade as 99p Stores and Family Bargains, along with its warehouse and distribution centre. Over time, 99p Stores will be converted to Poundland shops, a spokeswoman for the firm told the BBC.

The move will help Poundland's expansion in the South of England, although the company will have to persuade the UK's competition regulator of the merits of a deal that will bring together two of the biggest players in the discounted general merchandise space. Poundland, after initial talks with the Competition and Markets Authority, conceded it may have to offer concessions to get the deal passed owing to the size of the two companies.

Poundland shares are up 11.6% at 399.30 pence midday Friday, making it the best performing stock in the FTSE 250 on the day. Poundland listed its shares on the London Stock Exchange last March at 300p.
----------
Markets: London's main stock indices are trading lower mid-morning, as investors continue to focus on Greek debt troubles while awaiting the US nonfarm payroll count at 1330 GMT. The pound is flat against the dollar even though data showed the UK trade deficit widening in December.

US stocks are set for a slightly higher open, with stock futures indicating the DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 will open up 0.1%.

FTSE 100: down 0.3% at 6,845.97
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 16,670.07
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.3% at 700.12
GBP-USD: up at USD1.5331
EUR-USD: down at USD1.1443
GOLD: down at USD1,263.88 an ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD58.37 a barrel
----------
Other Top Corporate News
----------
Shire was accused of tax avoidance by the UK's Public Accounts Committee as part of a damning report issued by the committee into the role played by Big Four accountancy PricewaterhouseCoopers in helping its clients avoid paying tax. The PAC said the evidence submitted to its investigation into PwC failed to convince it that the schemes the accountancy has promoted to its clients constituted anything other than the promotion of tax avoidance "on an industrial scale". It said the UK government and tax collector HM Revenue & Customs need to take a more active role in regulating the tax industry and said HMRC needs to do more to challenge the nature of the advice given by accountancies to their clients.
----------
Capita said it has been approved to join the lead provider framework for NHS England's commissioning support services. Capita said clinical commissioning groups in the UK will be required to re-procure many support services by April 2016 in order to comply with European procurement law. The FTSE 100-listed outsourcing company said NHS England anticipates this will result in GBP3 billion to GBP5 billion in services being procured through the framework.
----------
GlaxoSmithKline said it has received positive results from the phase 3 study investigating the combination of the dabrafenib and trametinib drugs. Glaxo said the overall survival rates from the combination of the drugs showed a statistically significant fall in the risk of death from combining the pair in comparison to dabrafenib monotherapy in patients with BRAF V600E/K mutation-positive metastatic melanoma.
----------
The Irish government is not yet convinced of the merits of International Consolidated Airlines Group's takeover bid for Aer Lingus Group, the Irish Independent reported, quoting Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe. Donohoe said the interdepartmental group which is advising on the offer has held a second meeting with IAG but said the discussions failed to allay concerns over a potential sale of the carrier. "IAG have laid out the circumstances in which they would be prepared to make a formal bid. However, we as a shareholder remain to be convinced regarding the merits of what they're putting forward," Donohoe told the Irish Independent.
----------
Shares in Tate & Lyle plummeted after the company said it expects its full year profit to fall below its guidance on the back of continuing problems in its bulk ingredients business and said it will take action to try and improve its operation and supply chain following prolonged issues. The sugar company said it expects its profit for the year to the end of March to come in below the guidance it gave in September of GBP230 million to GBP245 million, owing to the weak performance in the bulk ingredients business in the third quarter and expectations this will not improve in the final quarter. The bulk ingredients performance will offset the results from its specialty food ingredients arm, which it expects to be in line with expectations.
----------
The UK Environment Agency said it has granted environmental permits to Cuadrilla Resources which will allow the company to carry out its proposed shale gas exploration on the Roseacre Wood site if it can convince the Lancashire County Council to agree. The permits awarded to Cuadrilla, which is spearheading onshore fracking in the UK, covers groundwater, surface water and air quality and ensures the safe storage, management and disposal of waste.
----------
DFS Furniture said it plans to list on main market of the London Stock Exchange in an initial public offering aimed at raising GBP105 million so it can pay down existing debt and lower the costs of financing in the future. DFS, which specialises in sofas, said it also will put existing cash and the GBP200 million proceeds from a new senior facilities agreement to repay the outstanding debt from its existing bond financing. In addition to the company's own fundraising with new shares, a partial sale of existing shares held by an entity indirectly controlled by funds managed by private equity firm Advent International Corp and members of the company's management team also will be included. Advent owns about 85% of DFS, with the remainder belonging to company directors and management.
----------
AIM Movers
----------
Clean Air Power shares have risen sharply after it was given a certificate of conformity from the US Environmental Protection Agency for its US Genesis EDGE Dual-Fuel compression-ignited natural gas engine. Powerhouse Energy Group is down after it ceased all of its operations in Switzerland and Germany so it can solely focus on the construction of the company's gasification system in Australia. Holders Technology is another faller after it said it swung to a loss in its last financial year on the back of a fall in revenue which outpaced lower costs.
----------
Top Economics And General
----------
The UK visible trade deficit widened in December, as imports surged, the Office for National Statistics said. The visible trade gap rose to GBP10.2 billion in December from GBP9.28 billion in November. Economists expected a GBP9.1 billion deficit. The deficit on trade in goods with EU nations narrowed to GBP6.4 billion from GBP6.5 billion in the previous month while that with non-EU nations increased to GBP3.8 billion from GBP2.8 billion, more than the GBP3 billion deficit expected by economists.
----------
UK firms hired staff at a slower rate in January despite growth in demand for staff, results of a survey by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, or REC, and KPMG showed. Permanent staff appointments rose at a slowest rate in twenty months in January. Temporary staff appointments increased at the weakest rate since October. However, overall job vacancies grew at the fastest rate in three months as growth in permanent and temporary vacancies quickened. Average starting salaries for people placed in permanent positions increased at the strongest rate in four months. Pay for temporary staff also climbed, though at the weakest pace in nine months.
----------
Germany's industrial production growth remained stable in December, defying expectations for a faster rate of increase. Industrial output grew 0.1% in December from a month ago, Destatis reported. Production was forecast to rise 0.4% after expanding by a revised 0.1% in November. Annually, production fell 0.7% in December, more than the 0.3% decline expected by economists.
----------
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande joined top US diplomat John Kerry in Kiev as they mounted a fresh diplomatic push to halt the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine. Merkel and Hollande met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday and travel to Moscow for a meeting Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Hollande said he and Merkel will present "a new proposal for a comprehensive settlement based on the territorial integrity of Ukraine." Following a meeting between Poroshenko and Kerry earlier in the day, the US secretary of state laid out so-called confidence-building measures that should be taken by Moscow as a first step towards ending the conflict.
----------
The Reserve Bank of Australia lowered its GDP growth and inflation forecasts after announcing its decision to cut rates earlier in the week, painting a gloomy picture of the economy. Growth overall is now forecast to remain at a below-trend pace somewhat longer than had earlier been expected, the RBA said in its quarterly Monetary Policy Statement. The bank said that the economy is expected to grow at a pace of 2.25% to 3.25% through December 2015 and 3% to 4% in the following year. This was less than the previous forecast for 2.5% to 3.5% GDP growth in 2015 and 2.75% to 4.25% in 2016.
----------
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott is to face a first major test to his leadership next week after one of his own party members said Friday he would bring a motion against him at a party meeting. The motion would be brought at the next Liberal party meeting on Tuesday.
----------
Afternoon Watchlist (all times in GMT)

13:30 US Nonfarm Payrolls
13:30 US Unemployment Rate
17:45 US Fed's Lockhart speech
20:00 US Consumer Credit Change
----------
Friday's Key UK Corporate Events

Shaftesbury - AGM Statement
---------
Sunday's Key Economic Events (all times in GMT)

n/a China Trade Balance
23:50 Japan Bank lending
23:50 Japan Current Account
23:50 Japan Trade Balance

Monday's Key Economic Events (all times in GMT)

05:00 Japan Consumer Confidence Index
05:00 Japan Eco Watchers Survey
07:00 Germany Current Account
07:00 Germany Trade Balance
09:30 EU Sentix Investor Confidence
15:00 US Labor Market Conditions Index
---------
Contact: +44 207 199 0340; newsroom@alliancenews.com; @AllNewsTeam

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.