London afternoon: US interest in Capital Shopping

25th Nov 2010 14:15

Footsie is more or less back to where it started the day after a quiet lunch time session, though investors continue to be excited about shopping centre owners.Capital Shopping Centres Group (CSC), the shopping centre arm of what used to be Liberty International, has raced ahead after it put pen to paper to purchase Manchester's Trafford Centre in a deal worth £1.6bn. US shopping mall owner Simon Property would have preferred that CSC hold off on the deal, however, as it was pondering a bid for the UK company at a premium to CSC's net asset value.CSC, which also announced a placing of 62.3m shares this morning, completed the placing at 355p per share, raising £212.2m. Hammerson, which owns the Brent Cross shopping centre, rises in sympathy.WS Atkins is also in demand. The engineering contractor reported a fall in revenues and profits in the half year to September 30 as it cut back on staff to cope with difficult conditions and said that the results of recent government spending revenues were broadly as expected, though some uncertainty remains. Also higher is property investment firm Helical Bar, which posted an operating profit for the half year compared to a loss the previous year, maintained its dividend and is confident investment deals now will provide future trading profits.Not all stocks have reacted well to trading updates though. Daily Mail Group is lower after reporting a rise in profits while warning that it is cautious on the outlook. After its first set of results under its new moniker, Dixons Retail is steady. The electricals retailer has posted interims largely in line with expectations though the underlying loss beat some forecasts. Profits soared at the Chile-focused copper miner Antofagasta in the nine months to September 30 as prices for the red metal recovered from the economic crisis.Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) jumped to $1.96bn (£1.24bn) on revenues that climbed to $3.17bn from $2.02bn.Food ingredients firm Tate & Lyle is to sell its molasses business to Belfast grain trader W&R Barnett for £67m in cash. Proceeds from the sale will be used to reduce net debt. Travel firm Thomas Cook is to enter the Russian market through a joint venture with a leading Russian holiday company, VAO Intourist. The British company will own a 50.1% holding in the joint venture, initially paying a maximum consideration of $45m for the stake, to be satisfied through the issue of $35m of Thomas Cook shares with the rest satisfied in cash.Water and waste group Pennon managed a small increase in half-year profit as a big jump at recycling business Viridor offset a decline at South West Water. Profit before tax for the six months ended 30 September grew 0.7% to £96.2m, with Viridor contributing £28.6m, up 29%, and South West Water £70.2m, down 0.6%. Residential housing specialist Grainger narrowed full year losses but it remains cautious about growth over the next two years. The group reported a pre-tax loss of £20.8m for the year ended 30 September compared to a loss of £170m in the prior year. Full-year group revenues declined to £244.5m from £302.2m a year ago. Travel firm Thomas Cook is to enter the Russian market through a joint venture with a leading Russian holiday company. Thomas Cook and VAO Intourist, Russia's longest established travel business, will form a joint venture focused on expansion in Russia and the other CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) countries.Shares in Bowleven soared to another 52-week high as the West Africa-focused oil explorer announced another promising result from test drilling.Capital Pub Company, which specialises in running local pubs for local people, reported an 18% increase in revenues in the first half of its financial year and this has enabled underlying profit to increase by 45% to £2m.Cold store operator Norish says that it has received a "very preliminary approach" which could lead to an offer for the Ireland-based cold storage business.