BUSINESS LIVE: Hargreaves Lansdown agrees takeover; Bellway sales fall; Asda increases checkout staff

Following the largest IT outage ever caused by a faulty software upgrade by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, insurance specialist Beazley expects more business opportunities in cyber risk insurance.

Adrian Cox, CEO of the FTSE 100-listed company, said the CrowdStrike incident was a test of Beazley’s approach to insuring against cyber risk, but he said it had proven highly resilient.

Barclays has become the first British bank to tell staff it will scrap its bonus cap, a post-Brexit victory.

In a bid to boost financial services in the country, the City giant has ditched previous rules introduced by Brussels in 2014 that capped bonuses at twice an employee’s annual salary.

US stocks rose yesterday after jobs figures eased fears of a slowdown in the world’s largest economy.

Weekly jobless claims were lower than expected, reassuring markets after Friday’s jobs data sparked a global market sell-off.

Sales at Bellway beat expectations in the first half of the year as the housebuilder benefited from increased buyer confidence following a fall in mortgage rates.

British housebuilders, battling a continued decline in the cost of living, are set to benefit from the first UK interest rate cut in more than four years.

Many UK mortgage lenders cut their rates earlier this month in anticipation of the long-awaited measure, although the Bank of England played down the possibility of a series of rapid cuts.

‘Customer confidence has improved, thanks to a moderation in both mortgage rates and consumer price inflation and an increase in wages,’ Bellway said.

The outlook is brighter as Britain’s new Labour government plans to tackle the chronic housing shortage by easing planning restrictions and increasing the supply of land.

Bellway’s revenue fell 31 percent to £2.35 billion, ahead of the average analyst forecast of £2.27 billion.

Hargreaves Lansdown has agreed to be taken over by a consortium backed by private equity giant CVC Partners and the Abu Dhabi wealth fund. The deal is valued at 1,140p per share and £5.44bn.

As part of the deal, Hargreaves investors will also receive a dividend of 30p per share.

The group of bidders includes buyout giant CVC, alongside Nordic Capital, and Platinum Ivy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The consortium is owned equally by the three companies.

In a stock market update, the consortium said the deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025 if shareholders approve the terms.

‘While the HL Independent Board is pleased with the progress made by the new management team, the HL Independent Board believes that the cash offer represents an attractive opportunity for HL shareholders to realise immediate cash value for their investment at a level that may not be achievable until the medium to long-term strategy is executed. Accordingly, the HL Board intends to unanimously recommend that HL shareholders approve the offer.

‘We are pleased that the Consortium believes that HL has an important purpose: making it easy for British consumers to save and invest for a better future.’