BUSINESS LIVE: Equinor given green light for Rosebank oil and gas field

England’s largest winemaker, Chapel Down Group, is actively considering a listing on the alternative investment market.

Chapel Down is currently listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange but is considering this move as part of plans to double the size of its business by 2026.

Rishi Sunak is sticking to plans that call for more than half of all new cars in Britain to be electric within five years, despite delaying a complete ban on petrol and diesel cars by 2030.

Motorists are expected to be guided to make their next electric purchase under the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate (ZEVM) programme, which is expected to remain unchanged despite Mr Sunak’s net-zero U-turn week.

Saga expects annual sales and profits to exceed market forecasts this year, following a continued strong recovery in demand for overseas holidays.

The over-50s specialist told investors it expects “significant” double-digit growth in revenue and underlying pre-tax profit for the fiscal year ending January 2024.

Investment platforms have a new source of juicy profits, boosting their coffers by hundreds of millions of pounds.

The only problem? That source is the savings interest earned on their customers’ money, but which platforms keep for themselves.

BT is abandoning a pledge to ensure phone users over the age of 70 can keep their landlines and not be forced to use controversial new digital lines for 12 months – and are promptly signing them up.

The telecoms giant had to suspend its initial rollout last year after an investigation by our sister newspaper The Mail on Sunday alerted the sector watchdog Ofcom to operational deficiencies, including the way customers cannot use their phone lines in the event of a power outage.

Avon’s UK boss has admitted that door-to-door sales are ‘not for everyone’ as the group moves to sell its cosmetics in stores and via TikTok.

For almost a century, London-based company ‘Avon Ladies’ has sold its beauty products through what Managing Director for Western Europe Kristof Neirynck calls ‘pure ding-dong selling’.

London-listed shares are in trouble again this morning as worries about longer yields continue to weigh on sentiment, while property shares are falling after Jefferies analysts said London’s office market is in a ‘rental recession’.

London’s office market is in a ‘rental recession’ as the volume of empty space in the capital’s West End, City and Canary Wharf business districts has reached its highest level in three decades, according to Jefferies analysts.

Land Securities, British Land, Derwent London and Great Portland Estates fell between 2 and 3 percent after Jefferies downgraded all shares.

Pendragon shares rose 7.9 percent after the car retailer said on Tuesday it had received an unsolicited proposal from AutoNation for around £447 million in cash.

The travel industry has enjoyed a great summer – and there appears to be no shortage of demand for holidays Christmas as families hunt for winter sun.

Easyjet’s profit of £203 million between April and June was a quarterly record and Ryanair recorded its fourth consecutive month of record passenger numbers in August.

Britain has given Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor the green light to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea, a move likely to spark fresh criticism from environmentalists.

Equinor, which has a majority stake in Rosebank, one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields on the UK continental shelf, will invest $3.8 billion, or approximately £3.1 billion, with its partner in developing the field .

Paddy Power owner Flutter has initially bought a 51 percent stake in Serbia’s second sports betting and gambling operator, MaxBet, for €141 million (£123 million) in a bid to expand in the Balkans.

Flutter said the deal, which also allows the company to acquire the remaining 49 percent stake on similar terms in 2029, aligns with its strategy to focus on high-growth, regulated markets where it can combine local expertise with its global prices and technology.

The world’s largest online gambling company said the €700 million Serbian gambling market is attractive due to its relatively low online penetration of around 35 percent and expected online compound annual growth rate until 2025 of around 15 percent.

MaxBet, which generated pro forma fully regulated revenues of €145 million in the year to June, 44 percent of which were online, also has a smaller presence in Bosnia, Montenegro and North Macedonia.

“We believe MaxBet is an excellent opportunity to replicate the success we have achieved in markets such as Georgia, India and Italy,” Flutter CEO Peter Jackson said in a statement.

The fund managers behind Lindsell Train distributed almost £36m in dividends last year – despite disappointing returns for investors.

Nick Train and his wife received around £18 million from the investment trust for the year to the end of January, as did his business partner Michael Lindsell and his wife, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

That was the lion’s share of a total dividend pot of £49m, although this was down from last year’s £53m.

Holiday group Saga expects annual revenue to rise by double digits and underlying profit to exceed market expectations after a surge in bookings for its ocean cruises amid resilient travel demand.

The company, which also sells insurance to the over-50s, told investors separately this morning that chief financial officer James Quin would step down from his role after almost five years.

FTSE 250-listed Hiscox has agreed to sell its car insurance businesses in Singapore and Thailand.

The insurer will sell DirectAsia to Ignite Thailand Holdings after a strategic review.

The company expects the deal to be completed by the end of 2023.

The government has given Oslo-listed Equinor the green light to develop the Rosebank oil and gas field in the North Sea in partnership with London-listed Ithica Energy.

Equinor has a majority stake in Rosebank, one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields on the UK continental shelf, and expects to produce 300 million barrels of oil from the field over its lifetime.

“We have today approved the Rosebank Field Development Plan, which will allow the owners to proceed with their project,” the North Sea Transition Authority said in a statement.

Environmentalists had called on the government to halt the development, arguing it was contrary to the UK’s plan for a net zero economy.

Gilad Myerson, executive chairman of Ithaca Energy, said: “We are pleased to announce the decision to move forward with Equinor on the Rosebank development.

‘Rosebank is the largest undeveloped field in Britain, and with the receipt of development consent from the NSTA we are now ready to embark on a journey that is not only vital for domestic energy, but also for substantial economic impact.

‘The Rosebank project will create thousands of jobs and contribute significantly to securing the UK’s energy needs for years to come.’

The pound hit a six-month low against the dollar last night as it headed for its worst month since last September’s mini-budget crisis amid recession fears.

Sterling fell about half a cent to $1.2157 as pressure on the currency increased in the wake of the Bank of England’s decision last week to leave interest rates unchanged.

And while many observers believe that rates have peaked in Britain, it is thought that further rate hikes could occur in the US, boosting the dollar.