Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Online retailing platform THG Group raised its annual revenue guidance early Monday, saying the publicity from its recent listing on the London Stock Exchange has given a boost to organic growth.
THG Holdings - which trades as The Hut Group - reported a strong third-quarter performance, which prompted the e-commerce company to raise its annual revenue guidance.
For the third quarter ended September 30, THG reported revenue of GBP378.1 million, which was up 39% from the same time last year.
THG listed in London last month with a market capitalisation of GBP5.40 billion and at the time guided for annual revenue of GBP1.43 billion. However, due to the third quarter performance, THG raised its financial 2020 revenue guidance on Monday to a range of GBP1.48 billion to GBP1.52 billion.
THG said the fourth quarter "remains a key and important trading period each year", accounting for 30% to 32% of revenue each year, with Black Friday playing a key role.
"Our decision to list on the London Stock Exchange provides us with a strong platform to raise the profile of both Ingenuity and our Brands, and further supports their strong organic growth. Our acquisition strategy remains unchanged, with a focus to complement organic growth with brand IP and Ingenuity infrastructure additions. THG has a very strong balance sheet, enabling us to further invest across each of our growth pillars," said Chief Executive Matthew Moulding.
THG shares were up 1.9% early Monday.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: down 1.2% at 5,790.09
----------
Hang Seng: Hong Kong market closed for Chung Yeung festival.
Nikkei 225: closed down 0.1% at 23,494.34
DJIA: closed down 28.09 points, 0.1%, at 28,335.57
S&P 500: closed up 0.3% at 3,465.39
----------
GBP: down at USD1.3005 (USD1.3050)
EUR: unchanged at USD1.1842 (USD1.1840)
Gold: soft at USD1,900.04 per ounce (USD1,900.50)
Oil (Brent): down at USD40.66 a barrel (USD42.25)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
Ireland October Bank Holiday.
1000 CET Germany Ifo business climate index
0830 EDT US CFNAI Chicago Fed national activity index
1000 EDT US new residential sales
----------
Spain declared a national state of emergency on Sunday to tackle a second coronavirus wave as the World Health Organization reported a third straight day of record new infections across the world. The WHO has warned that some countries are on a "dangerous track", with too many witnessing an exponential increase in cases, and called on countries to take further action to curb the spread of the disease. In total, the UN agency's figures showed that 465,319 cases were declared on Saturday alone, half of them in Europe. Covid-19 has now claimed the lives of 1.1 million people – a fifth of them in the US – and infected more than 42 million globally. The WHO has said that the northern hemisphere was at an especially critical juncture with winter looming. Italy – the epicentre of the first European outbreak – also ramped up restrictions on daily life, ordering the closure of theatres, cinemas and gyms and shutting bars and restaurants early. The US remains the hardest-hit country on the planet, and on Saturday it set a daily record for new Covid-19 cases for the second straight day, at nearly 89,000, with a further surge expected as cold weather arrives.
----------
China's communist leadership on Monday kicked off a four-day meeting to draw the next five-year economic plan and set development goals until 2035. China's 14th five-year plan is set to focus on economic self-reliance, technological innovation and a cleaner environment. Beijing is pushing ahead with a "dual circulation" philosophy, which aims to boost economic self-reliance while still benefiting from globalization. The plenum is set to run until Thursday, but decisions made there will likely not be announced until the next parliamentary session, which usually takes place in March.
----------
Seven people have been detained after British armed forces stormed an oil tanker off the Isle of Wight following a suspected hijacking by stowaways. The raid, likely to have been carried out by members of the Special Boat Service, was authorised by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Home Secretary Priti Patel on Sunday night after a tense 10-hour stand-off. Hampshire Police said they were alerted to concerns over the welfare of the crew of the 228-metre long Nave Andromeda soon after 10am on Sunday as the ship headed towards Southampton, having set sail from Lagos in Nigeria.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
MORGAN STANLEY CUTS BEAZLEY TO 'EQUAL-WEIGHT' ('OVERWEIGHT') - PRICE TARGET 350 (550) PENCE
----------
JPMORGAN RAISES SYNTHOMER TO 'OVERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 450 (242) PENCE
----------
BARCLAYS RAISES MCCARTHY & STONE TO 'EQUAL WEIGHT' ('UNDERWEIGHT') - TARGET 115 (70) PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Student accommodation provider Unite Group said Phil White has advised the board of directors that he will retire as chairman and step down from the board with effect from March 31. Earlier this year, White had said he would not offer himself for re-election at the 2021 annual general meeting. White will be replaced by Richard Huntingford who is the chair of magazine publisher Future. Huntingford will join Unite as chair-designate on December 1 and take up the role on April 1. He also is a non-executive director at JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust and Bankers Investment Trust.
----------
COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
HSS Hire Group proposed to raise up to GBP54.0 million gross by way of a firm placing and open offer, with its three major shareholders - Toscafund, Ravenscroft And Exponent - agreeing to subscribe GBP43.5 million worth of the shares. HSS Hire said the Covid-19 pandemic and the significant disruption that it has caused has dealt a blow to revenue in 2020 and has concluded it is "prudent" to raise capital before the year end. HSS Hire said the shares are to be placed at 10 pence each, which is a 55% discount to Friday's closing price of 22.40p. The company will use the funds to continue investment in its technology platform, invest in its hire fleet and repay GBP15 million of debt that falls due in January 2021. In addition, HSS said it is exploring alternative listing venues for the company, given that its three major shareholders own around 78% of its issued share capital. "This transaction is a major vote of confidence from three shareholders representing over 75% of the company's shares. It is testament to the significant strategic and operational progress HSS Hire has made since the start of 2018 as well as its resilience in challenging economic conditions. This capital injection will enable the group to further reduce its leverage - one of our foremost objectives - and gives us a strong platform from which to continue to implement change and drive growth," Chair Alan Peterson said.
----------
COMPANIES - GLOBAL
----------
West African country Ghana is looking to raise USD500 million from the sale of up to 49% of gold royalty fund Agyapa Royalties on the London and Ghana stock exchanges, the Financial Times reported. Ghana wants to complete the stock market flotation of its gold royalty company after elections in December, the newspaper said, with the cash going to education, health, housing and infrastructure.Currently, the listing is on hold until Ghana's special prosecutor has completed a review to check if any elements of the deal, which will create the first Africa-focused minerals royalty company, were corrupt, the FT said.
----------
Monday's Shareholder Meetings
Marechale Capital PLC - AGM
All Active Asset Capital Ltd - AGM
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.