BUSINESS LIVE: Britvic agrees £3.3bn takeover; Marston's to quit brewing; Ocado expands Japanese partnership

Plus500's profits have increased even though the European Football Championships dampened financial activity over recent weeks.

The financial technology company reported earnings before nasties grew by 6 per cent year-on-year to $183.9million in the first six months of 2023 and by 11 per cent to $81.3million in the second quarter.

Just before close, the FTSE 100 was 0.04% down at 8,200.62.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 0.18% lowe at 20,749.07.

Andrew Newland and his team at Angle have achieved something unique for a small-cap healthcare company — they have developed a cancer diagnostic technology from first principles and brought it to the brink of commercial success.

A recent fundraiser that added £9.3million to the coffers is expected to help the business reach cash flow break-even by the end of next year.

Ocado Group intends to construct its third robotic warehouse in Japan as part of its tie-up with Aeon.

The FTSE 250 firm began a partnership in November 2019 to develop the Japanese retail giant's online grocery operations using its Ocado Smart Platform.

The number of mortgages available to people buying with a 5 per cent deposit has reached the highest point in over two years, according to rates scrutineer Moneyfacts.

There are now 361 mortgage deals covering 95 per cent of a property's value, which is the highest recorded since May 2022.

Hollywood entertainment giant Paramount has announced it will merge with independent film studio Skydance.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: As much as Hollywood is steeped in film-making history, it has been forced to evolve with the times.

Whether that’s adopting new technology, stomaching major changes to the way the public consumes media, or dealing with egos bigger than Mars, Hollywood has survival instincts and it does whatever is needed to keep the stars shining bright.

The latest big change is the end of the Redstone era for Hollywood after 88 years. Shari Redstone is selling the Paramount business founded by her grandfather in 1936 to independent film studio Skydance.

Originally created as the Northeast Theatre Company by Michael Redstone, it morphed into National Amusements which eventually became one of the largest media groups in the US, owning CBS, Viacom and Paramount Pictures.

Skydance will now undertake a two-stage deal whereby it will buy National Amusements, which owns nearly 80% of the voting shares in Paramount Global, and then merge with the latter entity.

(PA) - The Bank of England should hold interest rates steady next month amid concerns over the tight labour market, according to a rate-setter at the Bank of England.

Jonathan Haskel, an external member of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and professor of economics at Imperial College, called for caution despite expectations interest rates will be reduced.

Economists have predicted rates will be reduced from the current 16-year-high of 5.25% down to 5% at the next vote on August 1.

In a speech at King's College London, he stressed there are "considerable encouraging signs" related to inflation, including that UK Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation dropped to the 2% target rate last month.

But he added: "However, the wage-price system in the UK has been subject to a sequence of enormous shocks over recent years.

"The playing out of those shocks through the economy, and the continued tight and impaired labour market, means that inflation will remain above target for quite some time.

Carlsberg has agreed to spend £3.3billion buying mixers and soft drink maker Britvic.

The Danish drinks giant's latest £13.15 per share proposal, which includes a 25 pence per share special dividend, represents a 36 per cent premium to Britvic's share price before the offer period started last month.

Thousands of British families heading away on their summer holidays were hit by yet more delays and cancellations at Gatwick and Heathrow airports on Sunday.

London's two busiest airports went into a meltdown yesterday after easyJet grounded 32 flights at Gatwick and BA axed another 32 at Heathrow, leaving passengers 'stranded'.

Carlsberg and Britvic announced this morning that they have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended £3.3billion cash offer for the mixer and soft drink firm.

The takeover valuation of 1,315p per share involves a cash offer of 1,290p for each Britvic share plus a special dividend payment of 25p per share to be paid by Britvic before the takeover.

The sale is at a premium of approximately 36 per cent to the Britvic's 970p share price on 19 June 2024, before bid speculation emerged.

(PA) - Online retail firm Huddled has taken control of surplus beauty product seller Boop Beauty.

London-listed Huddled, which owns Discount Dragon, said it has bought a 75% controlling stake in Boop.

It told shareholders on Monday morning it will pay an undisclosed "modest sum", with a commitment to inject further capital for growth.

Boop is an online, direct-to-consumer retailer which specialises in the sale of surplus beauty and cosmetic products.

The business was founded by former L'Oreal in-house lawyer Yasmine Amr and delivered 558 orders in the second quarter of 2024 with limited capital at its disposal.

Boop Beauty's online store has been taken offline to be integrated into Huddled Group, with a relaunch due in early September.

Martin Higginson, chief executive officer of Huddled, said: "We are thrilled to be working with Yasmine.

"The Boop business concept is fantastic and sits perfectly with the Huddled circular economy strategy."

Rachel Reeves will vow to end the blocking of housing development and major infrastructure projects today - with parts of the green belt targeted for building.

In her first major speech, the Chancellor will put her faith in a dramatic overhaul of the planning system to boost economic growth.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on Rachel Reeves ahead of her first speech as the new Chancellor of the Exchequer:

As the UK seems to be sailing into a period of stability, while waves of uncertainty continue to crash in France, the first speech by Chancellor Rachel Reeves is unlikely to contain many surprises.

Determined to project a ‘steady as she goes’ image, to maintain the early aura of calm which has descended on the new Labour administration, she’s set to focus on her aim to stimulate long-term growth in the economy.

She wants to steer well clear from prompting any kind of bond market strop out which ensued after the Liz Truss mini-Budget fiasco. So, she’s highly unlikely to veer away from the proposals set out in the ‘fully costed’ manifesto which contained modest spending pledges, coupled with a refusal to categorically rule out specific taxes.

The inconvenient truth of the election is that spending cuts were still baked in, but she’s counting on a kick-start to growth to help avoid slashing departmental budgets. That’s why boosting housebuilding by changing planning rules is likely to be the focus today.

Many additional rate taxpayers face tax bills on their savings interest, potentially without realising.

HMRC estimates it will rake in £10.37billion in savings interest tax in the current tax year 2024-25.

Boeing executives have accepted a $243.6million plea deal that would see the company avoid a criminal trial over two deadly 737 Max crashes.

Under the agreement, Boeing will plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge stemming from the fatal crashes in Indonesia in October 2018 and in Ethiopia less than five months later that killed a combined 346 people.

Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, comments on how the French parliamentary elections will affect markets:

We anticipate that the French election results will elicit a muted market reaction given that investors had largely anticipated the outcome where the Rassemblement National would not secure a majority.

However, there is a growing concern that the market’s current optimism may not fully account for the complexities introduced by the hung parliament. The political deadlock poses significant risks, particularly in light of France’s challenging fiscal position. Moreover, the policies of the far left will be viewed as very unfriendly by markets as well, so the hope is that some sort of moderate left coalition will emerge.

Two weeks ago, the European Commission’s placed France under an Excessive Deficit Procedure and with the parliament in disarray, the likelihood of passing necessary budget cuts diminishes, complicating France’s efforts to adhere to the EU’s stringent budgetary regulations and to steer its public debt towards a more sustainable trajectory.

Tory voters lost faith in the ability of Rishi Sunak's party to manage the housing market ahead of the election, figures reveal.

A results breakdown shows the Conservatives haemorrhaging support to Labour and the Liberal Democrats in seats with the most mortgage holders.

Grant Thornton is seeking a private equity investor to buy into the 100-year-old business.

The accountancy giant is exploring a potential deal by which the UK company's audit arm would remain majority-owned by its 220 partners, the Sunday Times reported.