BUSINESS LIVE: Barratt Developments profits fall; M&G investors raise £1.5bn; Direct Line misses half-year forecasts

Two Mobeus venture capital funds raised £9.6m through Wealth Club within just an hour of opening their latest share offering on 2 September.

This raised 140 per cent more funding than the trusts’ previous fastest raise. The VCTs have now raised £33.8 million, with around 60 per cent of this coming through Wealth Club.

The latest auction of green energy permits, which will supply electricity to 11 million households, should be seen as a step forward in the race to achieve net zero by 2030.

But it comes at a high price. After last year’s failure, the government’s agreed strike price for electricity generation is almost 60 percent higher than in 2022.

Direct Line missed expectations for operating profit in the first half of the year due to higher claims costs, particularly in the motor insurance division.

The company’s operating profit from continuing operations at the end of the period was £63.7m, compared with forecasts of around £85m.

Carlos Slim has increased his stake in BT to over 4 percent, reaffirming his confidence in the company.

The Mexican tycoon bought another 1.1 percent of the telecoms giant, worth around £150 million.

If there’s one tax Labour will raise in next month’s Budget, my money is on capital gains tax (CGT).

So if you own a company, an investment property or have put together an investment portfolio for after your retirement, you need to know what can come your way.

Oli Creasey, property analyst at Quilter Cheviot, comments on Segro’s proposed acquisition of Tritax Eurobox:

“Segro, the FTSE 100-listed REIT which owns industrial and warehousing properties in the UK and Europe, has this morning announced an equity offer for Tritax Eurobox, a circa £500m market capitalisation owner of European logistics assets.

“This is the latest chapter in the Eurobox story, which began earlier this year when the company was approached by Brookfield, a large Canadian real estate investment manager. Brookfield has not yet made a definitive offer, but the deadline for such an offer has been extended and now runs until September 23.

However, Eurobox has also received a number of other offers and it appears that it is not waiting for a response from Brookfield and has recommended its shareholders to accept Segro’s offer in shares.

Aarin Chiekrie, Equity Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on Barratt Developments’ latest results:

Barratt Developments has struggled to build momentum and its annual results were painful reading for investors. The group completed around 14,000 new homes last year, which was at the top end of group guidance.

But that’s still a significant drop from the 17,206 we saw last year, as mortgage and affordability pressures continue to weigh on potential buyers. Momentum improved somewhat as the year progressed, but further easing of mortgage rates will be needed to see significant activity pick up.

With fewer homes being sold and prices lower, less money has been coming in. In addition to the higher levels of incentives used to convince buyers to sign on the dotted line, underlying pre-tax profits have taken a hit, more than halving year-on-year.