Interserve Share News (IRV)

LONDON (Alliance News) - Concerns over the UK's economic growth following some subdued service sector data caused the pound to decline on Tuesday, in turn allowing the FTSE 100 to trump its European counterparts. Also supporting the UK headline stock index were gains for bookmaker GVC Holdings, telecommunications firm Vodafone and private healthcare provider NMC Health.The FTSE 100 index closed up 49.04 points, or 0.7%, at 7,183.43. The FTSE 250 ended up 31.71 points, or 0.2%, at 19,443.14, and the AIM All-Share closed just 0.49 of a point higher, or 0.1%, at 915.78.The Cboe UK 100 ended up 0.8% at 12,203.27, the Cboe UK 250 closed up 0.2% at 17,379.72, and the Cboe Small Companies gained 0.2% to 11,160.86.With the pound slipping, London's blue-chip index was "far and away the day's best performer", said Connor Campbell at Spreadex.Peers in mainland Europe posted more moderate gains on Tuesday, with the CAC 40 in Paris and the DAX 30 in Frankfurt ending up 0.2%.Meanwhile, stocks in New York were mostly lower at the London equities close, with the DJIA down 0.1%, the S&P 500 index down 0.1%, but the Nasdaq Composite 0.1% higher.The FTSE 100, comprising a significant number of companies that earn overseas, found support as the pound dipped. Sterling was quoted at USD1.3137 at the London equities close Tuesday, down compared to USD1.3175 at the close on Monday. Late last week, the pound had traded above the USD1.33 mark. This was after the latest IHS Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers' Index revealed the UK services sector picked up slightly in February but activity still remained subdued, indicating the economy is treading water.The seasonally adjusted Services Business Activity Index came in at 51.3 in February, up from a two-and-a-half year low of 50.1 in January. February's score signalled the sector strengthened with the reading moving further above the no-change mark of 50."However, the latest reading signalled only a marginal increase in service sector business activity. February data leaves the index on track for its weakest quarter since Q4 2012," noted IHS Markit, adding that the average reading so far in the first quarter of the year is 50.7, only just in expansion territory.IHS Markit said the services data suggest the UK economy is on track to print just 0.1% growth in the first quarter of 2019."The most unsettling point was the sharp decline in employment in the sector, as hiring fell by the most in 7 years," commented Fiona Cincotta at City Index. "Firms putting off hiring decisions is not that surprising however, these figures are a world apart from the solid labour reports that we have been seeing," she continued. "This doesn't mean that the UK labour market is about fall apart but hiring over the next few weeks is expected to be slow."Cincotta added: "We expect the pound to remain under pressure across the week as investors start positioning ahead of next week's Brexit voting bonanza."Meanwhile, in the eurozone, private sector activity registered slightly better growth than first estimated, but remained subdued. IHS Markit's composite PMI reading was finalized at 51.9 points in February, up from the flash reading of 51.4 and January's score of 51.0. The euro stood at USD1.1299 at the European equities close Tuesday following the data, lower compared to USD1.1322 at the same time on Monday.Service sector activity in the US saw solid expansion in February, meanwhile, with the PMI accelerating to the best level in seven months. IHS Markit's PMI registered 56.0 in February, up from 54.2 in January and broadly in line with the flash figure of 56.2. The rise in US services output was supported by a sharp increase in new business and a return to growth in new export orders, IHS Markit explained. Moreover, foreign demand rose at the strongest rate since last May.The composite index came in at 55.5 in February, up from 54.4 in January but slightly below the flash reading of 55.8.In commodities, Brent oil was quoted at USD65.62 a barrel at the London equities close Tuesday, largely unchanged from USD65.71 late Monday.Gold was quoted at USD1,283.80 an ounce at the London equities close Tuesday, lower versus USD1,286.88 at the close on Monday.While the soft pound helped to lift the FTSE 100, the index was also boosted as bookmaker GVC Holdings gained 7.1% on a well-received set of annual results. Underlying pretax profit - excluding one-off costs - nearly tripled to GBP434.6 million in 2018 from GBP151.0 million the year prior. Net gaming revenue was up more than three-fold to GBP2.98 billion from GBP815.9 million the year before.Revenue performance was helped by GVC's GBP3.2 billion acquisition of peer Ladbrokes Coral Group in March 2018.Vodafone closed up 2.3% after the telecommunications firm said it plans to raise around EUR4 billion through the issue of mandatory convertible bonds to fund its acquisition of some assets from US cable firm Liberty Global.The sterling denominated bonds are to be issued in two tranches maturing no later than March 2021 and 2022 respectively, with the initial conversion price to be announced by Vodafone after the market close on Friday.Proceeds from the bond issue will go towards partly financing the acquisition of Liberty Global assets in Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania, as well as bank loan refinancing and corporate purposes.NMC Health rose 2.2% as it signed definitive agreements to establish a healthcare joint venture in Saudi Arabia.NMC finalised the agreement with Hassana Investment Co, the investment arm of the Saudi Arabia's largest pension fund, General Organization for Social Insurance. NMC will own an 52% operating interest in the established joint venture, while Hassana will own 48%.The FTSE 100 constituent first signed the agreement to establish a Saudi Arabian joint venture with Hassana in June 2018.Providing a slight drag at the other end of the index was Intertek, shedding 3.5% despite the safety-testing firm hiking its 2018 dividend by two fifths after profit growth surpassed analyst expectations.In 2018, pretax profit widened 2.8% to GBP404.5 million from GBP393.3 million the year prior. This was after revenue rose 1.1% to GBP2.80 billion from GBP2.77 billion in 2017.On an adjusted basis - excluding exceptional costs - pretax profit widened 4.0% to GBP456.5 million from GBP438.8 million in 2017.Overall, profit was slightly ahead of analyst expectations despite a modest disappointment to revenue forecasts. According to company-compiled consensus figures, the market expected adjusted pretax profit of GBP455 million on revenue of GBP2.81 billion.Limiting gains in the FTSE 250 was Elementis, ending 7.5% lower after the chemicals firm reported annual profit was hurt by one-off costs. In 2018, pretax profit narrowed 17% to USD65.4 million from USD78.5 million the year prior. This was despite revenue rising 5.0% to USD822.2 million from USD782.7 million the year before.Profit was dented by a rise in exceptional costs to USD57.5 million from USD30.9 million the year prior. This was primarily related to a sharp rise in acquisition-related costs as well as a USD16.5 million increase in environmental remedial work provisions and a USD9.5 million charge related to its surfactants commercial settlement.Adjusted pretax profit - excluding exceptional costs - widened 2.7% to USD113 million from USD110 million the year prior. Elsewhere on the Main Market, outsourcer Interserve gained 12%. The construction firm said it is unable to consent to a proposal received by a shareholder to halt the implementation of its deleveraging plan.Coltrane holds more than 5% of the support services firm's shares.At the end of February, Interserve launched a GBP435.2 million fully underwritten share placing and open offer under its deleveraging plan.This is pending shareholder approval at a general meeting on Friday next week. They face massive dilution and will own just 5% of the company afterwards.However, Interserve said it is unable to consent to Coltrane's request without risking the future of the company together with its employees, pensioners, customers and suppliers.GoCompare shares gained 8.4% to 70.00 pence after Chair Peter Wood upped its take in the price comparison firm to just below 30%. Wood bought 17.8 million GoCompare shares on Monday for 63.70 pence per share in a deal worth GBP11.3 million, bringing his stake to 29.9%.Struggling department store Debenhams fell 6.0%. The retailer said it no longer expects to deliver annual profit in line with market views following a decline in sales in the first half of its current financial year.Debenhams reported a fall in gross transaction value of 5.4% for the 26 weeks to this past Saturday, with like-for-like sales down by 5.3%. UK sales slipped by 6.0% with International sales down 2.3%. More positively, online sales grew by 2.0% over the period.In the economic calendar on Wednesday, US ADP employment change is at 1315 GMT, a precursor to Friday's nonfarm payrolls, while the Federal Reserve's Beige Book is at 1900 GMT.In the UK corporate calendar on Wednesday, financial services firm Legal & General, bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair, recruitment firm PageGroup, online takeaway platform Just Eat, office space provider IWG, and defence firm Ultra Electronics all report annual results.