Below are the key afternoon headlines from today’s papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Halifax warns of house prices slip despite surprise leap. Lender Halifax warned of a “subdued” housing market this year despite its latest index showing a surprise December boost. The 2.2% jump in prices last month, bouncing back from a 1.2% fall in November, wrongfooted City economists following a 0.7% slide in prices shown by the Nationwide. But experts focused on Halifax’s less volatile quarterly figures showing a 0.4% decline at the end of last year as a truer picture of market conditions. Over the year as a whole, prices rose 1.3%. Halifax sees house price growth of between 2% and 4% this year but “still fairly subdued by modern comparison”. Managing director Russell Galley added: “This expectation will clearly be dependent on the Brexit outcome, with risks to both sides of our forecast.”
Morrisons’ festive sales lift despite ‘cautious and careful’ shoppers. Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) has racked up its fourth year of Christmas growth despite retail sales slowing as shoppers were more “cautious and careful” with their budgets. Chief executive David Potts said that there had been a “change in consumer behaviour during the period”, adding that customers were feeling the effects of a “spend-up summer with the heatwave and English football success” and were now “pulling their horns in”. The Morrisons boss added that Brexit uncertainty had started to become more of a “personal” concern as the date for the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union draws near. “Shoppers were quite cautious and careful about what they were spending their money on,” Mr Potts said.
Legal pioneer Gateley on prowl for deals to boost growth. The head of the UK’s first listed law firm was on the look out for more deals on Tuesday after a sharp rise in first-half profits. Gateley (Holdings) (GTLY) — which took the plunge on AIM in 2015 in a trail-blazing move for the legal sector — has made four bolt-on deals since then. But chief executive Michael Ward said the firm “continues to look for the right acquisitions” after two in the past six months. “Our pipeline is stronger than it was 12 months ago. We believe that’s because of people being more aware in the market of what we stand for. We see more opportunities.” Gateley advises High Street lenders, has a big mergers and acquisitions arm and also acts for 19 of Britain’s top 20 housebuilders. The company has been adding complementary professional services firms to its stable but its recent move for GCL Solicitiors — a housebuilding solicitor — chipped in £2.9 million in fees over the half, helping pre-tax profits up 19% to £5 million in the six months to October 31.
Greene King toasts record Christmas day trading. Greene King (GNK) had a very merry Christmas Day with record sales of £7.7 million, the pubs and brewing giant said today. The FTSE 250 firm added that comparable sales increased 3.2% in the 36 weeks to January 6. In the two weeks to New Year, they were up 10.9%. Barclays analyst Richard Taylor said: “This is clearly a positive statement over a key trading period.” The shares rose 22p to 575.2p. Greene King, which operates 2798 sites, also said it will press ahead with cost-saving plans as it grapples with food price inflation and rising wages.
Morrisons Christmas sales dampened by ‘cautious’ shoppers. Supermarkets chain Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) found itself out of favour in the City on Tuesday after it admitting it had a lacklustre Christmas. The grocer said its 3.6% increase in comparable sales for the nine weeks to January 6 had been its fourth consecutive Christmas of growth. However, the biggest chunk of that came from its wholesale business, which supplies food to convenience stores group McColl’s and Amazon. Sales from its supermarkets rose 0.6%, compared with 1.3% in the previous quarter and 2.1% over the Christmas period last year. Although the figure was better than some analysts expected, the shares fell 3.5%, or 7.8p, to 211.8p.
Footasylum (FOOT) slashed prices amid heavy discounting on the High Street over Christmas. In a trading update it said revenue from stores was up 5% at £63.7 million in the 18 weeks to 29 December and total revenue was up 14% to £102.3 million. However, the retailer warned that present trading conditions have led to significant discounting and promotional activity which has hit gross margins for this year. In response to its lackluster results expectations, the company is implementing a cost reduction plan across the business
The country-casual fashion brand has emerged as one of the High Street’s Christmas winners with shoppers choosing its handbags, watches and men’s clothes as gifts. Chief executive Colin Porter said: “We had a fantastic November — we were slightly unusual [compared with rivals] — thanks to Black Friday, and that continued in December.” Joules Group (JOUL) said sales were up 11.7% for the seven weeks to January 6, of which more than 50% came from online orders. Porter added: “Stores have an important role: shoppers can see the brand, it’s convenient – you can order in store or click-and-collect. We’re attracting new customers.”
Codemasters today said it has entered a new agreement with internet and online game provider NetEase to work on a new mobile game. Codemasters (CDM) will receive £6.2 million in revenue over the next three years and as a result raised its earnings expectations for this year. Shares rose 20p to 181.5p.