BUSINESS LIVE: 888 profits slump; Inland Homes in administration; Deliveroo £250m buyback

Just before closing, the FTSE 100 rose 0.07% to 7,598.50.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.71% lower at 18,091.16.

Trading in shares of troubled Chinese property giant Evergrande Group has been suspended following reports that its chairman had been placed under police surveillance.

It comes at a time when concerns are mounting over the cash-strapped developer’s future, while risks of liquidation are increasing, which could have significant implications for the Chinese and global economies.

(PA) – The owner of Poundland has downgraded its expectations for the year as he warned its markets in central and eastern Europe were becoming “increasingly challenging”.

Pepco lowered its outlook for the second time in a month as it said customers were not as interested as expected in its apparel and general merchandise lines – both of which are critical to Pepco.

The company said revenues in August were “lower than expected”, and this “worsened in September”.

Like-for-like sales turned negative this month and the company’s new stores performed worse than expected.

“It is clear that we need to refocus on delivering our core businesses for our customers, while delivering more measured growth,” said Chairman Andy Bond.

“We need to improve profitability and cash generation in our established businesses, alongside a more focused growth plan in markets where we are already present.”

The shares, which are listed in Warsaw, fell 16% after the news. So far this year they are down more than 45%.

Pepco added: “We have not seen the expected recovery in gross margins to date as we continue to work through inventory we purchased at higher costs earlier this year.”

There is a 90 percent chance that British government borrowing in four years will be higher than the budget watchdog has predicted, new research shows.

The report from the IFS think tank claims that borrowing in the 2027/28 tax year is likely to be £40 billion higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted in March.

The British competition authority is considering an investigation into the proposed merger between Whirlpool and a company owned by Turkey’s largest industrial conglomerate.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Arcelik’s planned takeover of Whirlpool’s European home appliances division could lead to higher prices and lower quality products for consumers.

Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group have realized their long-held ambition to sell a minority stake in the club to American investors Dynasty Equity.

There has been a lot of speculation over the past twelve months about what FSG’s intentions were for Liverpool, following a story that they were considering an outright sale of the club they bought for £300 million in October 2010.

Ryanair has cut its winter flight schedule due to delays in the delivery of new Boeing 737 aircraft.

The budget airline will reduce the number of aircraft it plans to base at several airports in Europe, including East Midlands Airport and Dublin Airport.

The value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) concluded with British involvement will fall to a fourteen-year low in 2023, new findings show.

M&A deals involving Britain have totaled £144.7 billion so far this year, down 45 percent on last year, according to LSEG Deals Intelligence.

Phoenix Group’s profit rose in the first half of the year, driven by demand for insurance products for corporate pension schemes.

The insurance company, which has traditionally specialized in managing life insurance businesses closed to new customers, posted operating profit growth of 5 percent year-on-year to £266 million in the six months to June 30.

Sales at Mitchells & Butlers have improved after more customers turned to pubs for drinks and food, despite high inflation.

Cost headwinds, which have been a major challenge for the UK hospitality sector, are also starting to ease, while high inflation has not deterred demand, the group told shareholders on Thursday.

William Hill owner 888 Holdings has issued a profit warning after the gambling group was hit by new regulatory changes and ‘customer-friendly’ sports results.

Shares in 888 Holdings fell 17.4 percent to 91.25p in early trade after the gambling group told investors that 2023 profits would miss forecasts amid tougher trading conditions.

Lloyds Bank is trying to lure customers into the DIY investment world with the launch of its ETF Quicklist.

The bank has partnered with BlackRock to create a list of 16 iShares ETFs for investors.

London’s office market is in a ‘rental recession’, with vacancy rates in the capital’s traditional business districts reaching their highest level in three decades, according to a report.

Analysts at Jefferies estimate that office space in use in the City, West End and Canary Wharf has shrunk by as much as 20%.

Deliveroo plans to return up to £250 million to its shareholders in a premium offer launching on Friday.

The food delivery group, which first outlined its plan to return excess capital to shareholders in August, said it plans to buy up to 217.4 million existing ordinary shares for between 115p and 135p per share.

Gambling giant 888 Holdings has cut its annual profit forecast after third-quarter revenue fell 10 percent, which the company partly blamed on tighter regulation of the sector in Britain.

Lord Mendelsohn, Executive Chairman, said:

‘This was an important quarter for the company with the announcements of Per Widerström as our new CEO and Sean Wilkins as our new CFO, who I am confident will lead the company through the next phases of growth and I look forward to to start Per as CEO in mid-October.

‘We are taking significant steps to improve the quality and sustainability of our long-term earnings, but the performance in the third quarter fell below our expectations, and this means we now expect to end the year with EBITDA lower is then our previous expectation.’