London pre-open: Higher start expected

16th Sep 2009 07:46

Shares are expected to open higher in early dealings, with the FTSE 100 edging further above the 5,000 point mark.Fashion retailer Next enjoyed better than expected progress in the first half, but kept its 'conservative' forecasts for second half like for like sales unchanged. Pre-tax profit for the six months to 25 July rose 7% to £185.5m, in line with analysts' forecasts, on revenue up a touch to £1.51bn from £1.5bn in 2008.Miner UK Coal is to raise approximately £100m though the issue of 142m shares at a big discount to yesterday's closing price. Major shareholder Peel Holdings, which has a 28% stake, supports the share issue and will take up its full entitlement to maintain its percentage holding. The money will be raised through a firm placing (£41.7m) and open offer (£64.9m) at a price of 75p.Mark Selway, chief executive of the engineering group Weir, is to leave the company to take up a position with Australian building materials supplier Boral. He will be replaced by Keith Cochrane, currently finance director of Weir.Specialist printer De La Rue said trading remains in line with expectations underpinned by strong banknote volumes. A strong order book for currency should support year-on-year increases for banknote volumes and revenues, the firm said.Business at Synergy Healthcare is 'comfortably' meeting management's expectations, the high-flying healthcare support services group said Wednesday. 'The positive start in Q1 has continued in Q2 with notably strong cash generation and continued improvements in operating margin,' chairman Steve Wilson said in a brief statement ahead of today's AGM.The London Stock Exchange has confirmed the acquisition of Sri Lankan trading platform software group MillenniumIT for $30m (£18m). Reports at the weekend had suggested a deal was imminent, as the Exchange needs to replace its TradElect trading system, though it had been expected to buy a new platform rather than a whole company.