MARKET REPORT: Hangover for cider seller as boss leaves in shock

Early summer is normally when cider sales begin to peak as drinkers try to quench their thirst.

But for the Bulmers and Magners seller, this season could be one to forget.

C&C Group shares plummeted after the CEO resigned following the revelations of a series of accounting errors.

Dublin-based FTSE 250-listed drinks company C&C, which also makes Scottish lager Tennent’s, revealed it had recorded a £14.5 million charge on its balance sheet over the past three years due to ‘discrepancies’.

Chief executive Patrick McMahon was finance boss at the time of the ‘discrepancies’, before moving to CEO in May last year.

McMahon has accepted responsibility for what the company described as “accounting errors and errors of judgment.”

Shares fell 7.6 percent, or 12.8p, to 156.4p. The update came at the same time as the group published its unaudited annual results, which showed sales fell 2 percent to £1.4 billion.

The company also made a loss of £94 million, after making a profit of £44 million the year before.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent, or 39.97 points, to 8,245.37 and the FTSE 250 lost 0.8 percent, or 160.51 points, to 20,555.37.

London’s blue chip index posted a fourth straight week of losses for the first time since late 2020. In the Middle East, oil giant Saudi Aramco sold shares at the lower end of its expectations. The state-owned company has sold £8.8 billion worth of shares at 570p.

Such funds will help Saudi Arabia – which remains Aramco’s largest shareholder with more than 90 percent of its shares – in its quest to transform its economy.

Back in London, computer maker Raspberry Pi will see its shares float at the top of its price range when it lists next week.

The shares are expected to be priced between 260p and 280p, which would value them at £540m.

Housebuilder Bellway is optimistic about the British housing market after reporting stronger trading in the spring.

The company’s private reservation rate rose 6.9 percent between February 1 and June 2 as customers took advantage of improved affordability as mortgage rates fall and wages rise. Bellway added that it is “on track” to build 7,500 homes during the financial year.

Bellway shares fell 0.7 percent, or 18p, to 2764p.

Time is running out for bidders looking to buy two London-listed companies.

Advertising agency Brave Bison has until Monday to announce whether it will make a strong offer to acquire its rival The Mission Group or walk away.

The suitor saw his sweetened offer rejected earlier this week, putting the deal in jeopardy. Shares in The Mission Group fell 3.6 percent, or 1p, to 27p. Brave Bison shares were unchanged at 2.45p.

IT services provider Redcentric will remain listed on the London stock exchange – at least for the time being – after its Italian rival Wiit walked away from making a bid on Thursday. Shares fell 2.6 percent, or 3.75p, to 142p.