London pre-open: Stuck in reverse gear

6th Sep 2011 07:16

London has just one gear at the moment, and that is reverse. The Footsie is set to open lower again, but at least it looks as if it will keep its head above 5,000 at the outset.  City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open down 33 points from yesterday's close of 5,103. Coffee shop, hotels and restaurants owner Whitbread saw like-for-like (LFL) sales grow 4.8% from a year earlier in the 11 weeks to 18 August. The Costa Coffee chain was the star performer, with LFL sales growth of 28.8%, but LFL sales growth of 12.5% at Premier Inn was not too shabby either. By contrast, restaurants saw LFL sales growth of just 0.7%.Online betting marketplace Betfair said core revenues in the three months ended 31 July were down 7% from a year earlier to £80.8m, but noted that last year's quarterly period was a record quarter for the company, so the comparatives are tough. Core Betfair revenue in August was up 12% year-on-year.Recycled packaging firm DS Smith said trading since the end of April has been good, with a strong contribution from the successful acquisition and integration of Otor. Like-for-like volumes in corrugated packaging are up 3% year-on-year, in line with previously announced group targets.