LONDON BRIEFING: UK Pubs And Cinemas Set Out Plans To Reopen

(Alliance News) - London-listed leisure companies early Wednesday set out plans for re-opening after being given the green light by the UK government to do so from July 4.

On Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that a large number of businesses in England will be allowed to reopen from July 4, including pubs, hotels, libraries and outdoor leisure facilities.

Excluded however were indoor gyms, spas and nightclubs. Bowling alleys, water parks and casinos will also not be allowed to reopen.

JD Wetherspoon said Wednesday it has created a 'Wetherspoon Covid-19 Secure Operating Plan' as it prepares to reopen its pubs on July 4, but it does not intend to start any new pub development projects in the next 12 months. In addition, Wetherspoon's lenders have approved a GBP48.3 million loan through the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption scheme.

The pub chain said two members of staff died in April after testing positive for Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Everyman Media said it would start reopening its cinemas from July 4, with all 33 open by July 24.

Wetherspoon shares were up 1.6% early Wednesday, while Everyman was up 7.0%.

Here is what you need to know at the London market open:

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MARKETS

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FTSE 100: down 0.6%, at 6,284.18

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Hang Seng: down 0.2% at 24,861.76

Nikkei 225: closed down 0.1% at 22,534.32

DJIA: closed up 131.14 points, 0.5%, at 26,156.10

S&P 500: closed up 0.4% at 3,131.29

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GBP: down at USD1.2511 (USD1.2526)

EUR: soft at USD1.1319 (USD1.1325)

Gold: firm at USD1,766.30 per ounce (USD1,765.19)

Oil (Brent): down at USD42.72 a barrel (USD43.58)

(changes since previous London equities close)

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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL

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Wednesday's Key Economic Events still to come

1000 CEST Germany Ifo business climate index

0700 EDT US MBA weekly mortgage applications survey

0900 EDT US monthly house price index

1030 EDT US EIA weekly petroleum status report

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The number of deaths caused by the novel coronavirus virus worldwide has surged past 475,000, according to an AFP tally from official sources. The death toll has doubled in under two months and in total 477,117 fatalities have been recorded from 9,263,743 cases across the globe. Europe remains the worst-hit region with 193,800 dead from 2,557,761 cases, but the pandemic is spreading rapidly through Latin America where 100,378 have died from 2,163,835 cases.

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has suspended plans for military action against the South, state media reported, in an apparent sudden dialling down of tensions after Pyongyang blew up a liaison office. In recent weeks, Pyongyang has issued a series of vitriolic condemnations of Seoul over anti-North leaflets, which defectors based in South Korea send across the border – usually attached to balloons or floated in bottles. Last week, it blew up a liaison office on its side of the border that symbolised inter-Korean rapprochement, while its military said it would take multiple measures against the South. The moves included re-entering areas of the North that it had withdrawn from as part of inter-Korean projects, restoring guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone that forms the border, and stepping up exercises. But the North's official Korean Central News Agency said Kim on Tuesday presided over a Central Military Commission preliminary meeting that "suspended the military action plans against the south".

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BROKER RATING CHANGES

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CITIGROUP RAISES PETS AT HOME TO 'BUY' (NEUTRAL) - PRICE TARGET 280 (265) PENCE

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CITIGROUP CUTS DUNELM GROUP TO 'SELL'

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CREDIT SUISSE RAISES G4S TO 'OUTPERFORM' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 140 (110) PENCE

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COMPANIES - FTSE 100

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Persimmon said Dean Finch, boss of transport operator National Express, has been chosen as the housebuilder's next chief executive and will take up the post at the end of the year. He will succeed David Jenkinson, who announced in February that he wanted to step down once a successor had been identified. "The board believes that Dean is a great fit for Persimmon and is well qualified to lead the business into the next phase as we continue to drive a programme of change to become the leading volume builder of good value, quality family homes throughout the UK," said Persimmon Chair Roger Devlin.

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COMPANIES - FTSE 250

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Crest Nicholson swung to a pretax loss as Covid-19 dented its first half performance and it guided to a sharp drop in annual profit. Revenue for the half year to April 30 dropped 52% to GBP240.0 million, and the housebuilder swung to a pretax loss of GBP51.2 from a GBP64.4 million profit a year prior. The FTSE 250 constituent said it saw strong sales momentum in the wake of the UK general election and the run up to the spring selling season, but Covid-19 "significantly impacted" the first-half performance. "Revenue and profit were both lower than we had anticipated with a substantial number of private completions planned for the end of April being postponed. We also saw indecision in several bulk deal negotiations as we entered the period of peak uncertainty," said Crest. It has, though, been "encouraged" by the trading environment in recent weeks, even if the backdrop remains "highly uncertain". Crest now expects adjusted pretax profit to be around GBP35 million to GBP45 million for the current financial year, after achieving just GBP4.5 million in adjusted profit for the first half. A year ago, first half adjusted pretax profit amounted to GBP64.4 million. For the financial year ended October 31, 2019, the firm achieved adjusted pretax profit of GBP121.1 million.

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A class action claim levelled at easyJet over its recent personal data breach will be the largest in UK history, according to a statement by the law firm leading the case against the airline. London-based PGMBM said 10,000 victims have joined the class action suit, making "it the UK’s biggest and fastest growing group-action personal data claim just three weeks after papers were filed". Back on May 19, easyJet said it was the victim of a cyber attack that left the details of 9 million customers compromised. The low-cost carrier said its investigation revealed that the email addresses and travel details of around 9 million customers were accessed. For a "very small subset" of customers, being 2,208, credit card details were accessed. "The breach itself occurred in January 2020 but despite notifying the UK’s Information Commissioner's Office at that time, EasyJet waited four months to notify its customers," PGMBM commented.

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COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM

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Mr Kipling cakes maker Premier Foods said it swung to an annual profit and said it expects to beat forecasts for the financial year ahead. Revenue for the year to March 28 rose 2.8% to GBP847.1 million, with Premier Foods swinging to a pretax profit of GBP53.6 million from a GBP42.7 million loss, as administration costs fell 51% to GBP76.6 million. The UK Grocery business grew revenue each quarter and by 4.5% in the full-year. The firm's grocery categories and brands saw a "sharp increase" in volumes in the last three weeks of the financial year, as large numbers of consumers in the UK sought to build household stocks of some products during the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking ahead, Chief Executive Alex Whitehouse said: "Revenues in the first quarter of FY20-21 are expected to be approximately 20% ahead of the same quarter a year ago reflecting continued strong demand for the group's product ranges, particularly in our Grocery business. Consequently, we expect to exceed current expectations for FY20-21 revenue and trading profit despite incurring some additional operating costs in our supply chain."

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Asset manager Brooks Macdonald said its subsidiary has agreed to buy the Channel Islands wealth management and funds business of Lloyds Bank for up to GBP9.6 million. The initial consideration is expected to be up to GBP9.3 million in cash, with a contingent amount of up to GBP330,000 payable two years after completion, depending on the business meeting pre-agreed performance targets relating to the retention of portfolio clients. Lloyds Bank International's wealth management and offshore funds business has a "high quality investment offering with an affluent and high net worth client base", Brooks Macdonald said. "As well as the good strategic fit, our discussions with Lloyds Bank International have shown we have similar cultures with a shared strong focus on clients and intermediaries. This acquisition, the second for Brooks Macdonald in this financial year, is a further step forward in achieving our growth ambitions, complementing our organic strategy, creating value for shareholders and bringing benefits for clients and intermediaries," said Brooks Macdonald Chief Executive Caroline Connellan.

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COMPANIES - GLOBAL

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Royal Bank of Canada said it is offering CAD1.25 billion of non-viability contingent capital subordinated debentures via its Canadian medium-term note programme. The notes will bear interest at a 2.088% fixed rate, paid semi-annually, until June 2025. After that, they will bear interest at the three-month Canadian dollar offered rate plus 1.31% until they maturing in June 2030. The bank will use the note proceeds, equivalent to USD922.6 million, "for general business purposes".

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Wednesday's Shareholder Meetings

Alpha FX Group

Eden Research

Emmerson

Watchstone Group

Longboat Energy

Airtel Africa

Tclarke

Secure Trust Bank

Creo Medical

SpaceandPeople

Quarto Group

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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com

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