National Lottery operator Allwyn to merge with Greece’s OPAP in £14bn deal
The National Lottery operator Allwyn is to merge with Greece’s leading gambling company OPAP to create a global listed gaming giant worth about €16bn (£13.9bn).
Allwyn, which owns a near-52% controlling stake in Athens-headquartered OPAP, has agreed an all-share tie-up with OPAP that will see the combined group renamed Allwyn.
It will give Allwyn a presence on the stock market, with plans to retain OPAP’s Athens listing for the merged group, and to launch an additional stock market listing in either London or New York.
For many years OPAP was a state-owned gambling monopoly. The company holds the exclusive rights to run lotteries and sports betting in Greece.
In 2022, Camelot lost the licence to run the lottery in the UK to rival Allwyn. The billionaire media mogul Richard Desmond had also been bidding for the contract, and is suing the gambling regulator in a bitter dispute that opened at the high court last Thursday. He has brought a £1.3bn damages claim against the Gambling Commission.
Last year, the Guardian revealed that Allwyn was borrowing millions from Kremlin-owned banks when it won the UK’s largest public-sector contract. Allwyn is ultimately owned by the Czech billionaire Karel Komárek.
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Big Yellow shares jump as Blackstone considers bid
Shares in Big Yellow Group jumped by more than 20% after the US fund manager Blackstone said it was considering a buyout of the UK self storage company.
New York-based Blackstone is in the early stages of considering a cash offer for the company, according to a statement. The move comes ahead of the budget on 26 November, it said.
Blackstone Funds’ evaluation of Big Yellow is at a preliminary stage and Blackstone is considering, amongst other factors, the macro-economic environment including the potential impact of the upcoming UK budget as it relates to the self-storage sector.
Shares in Big Yellow jumped more than 20% to £1.16, their biggest rise on record. The self storage company responded with a statement, saying:
The board of Big Yellow notes the announcement by Blackstone Europe that one or more of the investment funds advised by Blackstone or any of its affiliates is considering its position in relation to the company, which could include a cash offer for the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of the company.
The board of Big Yellow notes the recent media speculation and confirms that it has held meetings with a small number of parties in relation to a range of potential options including a potential sale of the company.
The company is not in receipt of an approach and is not in discussions with any parties in respect of a potential sale of the company at the time of this announcement.
Blackstone has been on a buying spree in the UK, snapping up property assets.
The private equity firm bought Warehouse REIT (real estate investment trust) earlier this year and confirmed today that it taking a stake in Tritax Big Box REIT, which invests in ‘big box’ distribution centres, as part of a deal to sell a £1bn UK logistics portfolio to the company.
National Lottery operator Allwyn to merge with Greece’s OPAP in £14bn deal
The National Lottery operator Allwyn is to merge with Greece’s leading gambling company OPAP to create a global listed gaming giant worth about €16bn (£13.9bn).
Allwyn, which owns a near-52% controlling stake in Athens-headquartered OPAP, has agreed an all-share tie-up with OPAP that will see the combined group renamed Allwyn.
It will give Allwyn a presence on the stock market, with plans to retain OPAP’s Athens listing for the merged group, and to launch an additional stock market listing in either London or New York.
For many years OPAP was a state-owned gambling monopoly. The company holds the exclusive rights to run lotteries and sports betting in Greece.
In 2022, Camelot lost the licence to run the lottery in the UK to rival Allwyn. The billionaire media mogul Richard Desmond had also been bidding for the contract, and is suing the gambling regulator in a bitter dispute that opened at the high court last Thursday. He has brought a £1.3bn damages claim against the Gambling Commission.
Last year, the Guardian revealed that Allwyn was borrowing millions from Kremlin-owned banks when it won the UK’s largest public-sector contract. Allwyn is ultimately owned by the Czech billionaire Karel Komárek.
IFS warns Rachel Reeves against ‘half-baked dash for revenue’
Rachel Reeves must avoid “a half-baked dash for revenue” or risk damaging economic growth as the chancellor seeks to close a large gap in next month’s budget, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has said.
The tax and spending thinktank has warned there was a danger the chancellor would create “unnecessary economic damage” if she chooses to stitch together unrelated tax-raising measures to cut the shortfall in government revenues and keep within her fiscal rules.
In a chapter from a report due to be published later this month, the IFS said Reeves could raise tens of billions of pounds in extra revenue without breaking Labour’s manifesto pledges, but cautioned that higher rates on longstanding, poorly designed taxes would have a detrimental effect on incentives to work, productivity and economic growth.
‘Lab to fab’: are promises of a graphene revolution finally coming true?
Two decades after the material was first produced, some UK firms have reaped its potential but others are struggling. I’ve talked to some of them.
After graphene was first produced at the University of Manchester in 2004, it was hailed as a wonder material, stronger than steel but lighter than paper. But two decades on, not every UK graphene company has made the most of that potential. Some show promise but others are struggling.
Extracted from graphite, commonly used in pencils, graphene is a latticed sheet of carbon one atom thick, and is highly effective at conducting heat and electricity. China is the world’s biggest producer, using it to try to get ahead in the global race to produce microchips and in sectors such as construction.
In the UK, a graphene-enhanced, low-carbon concrete was laid at a Northumbrian Water site in July, developed by the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at the University of Manchester and Cemex UK.
“The material when it came out of academia was hyped to death … but the challenge is going from lab to fab,” says Ben Jensen, the chief executive of 2D Photonics, a startup spun out from the University of Cambridge that makes graphene-based photonic technology for datacentres.
Jensen also invented Vantablack coatings, made of carbon nanotubes – rolled-up sheets of graphene – and known as the world’s “blackest black” because it absorbs 99.96% of light, at the UK company Surrey NanoSystems that he founded in 2007. The material’s artistic rights were sold exclusively to the sculptor Anish Kapoor, and BMW used it on its X6 coupe to create the “blackest black car” six years ago.
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at the trading platform interactive investor, has looked at the moves in markets this morning.
The FTSE 100 has opened higher, although it is logging more modest gains than the DAX and CAC 40. Defence stocks are under pressure with Babcock, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce at the bottom of the UK basket. Fresnillo is the top gainer on the FTSE 100 after a short squeeze for silver.
In France, Sébastien Lecornu announced a new cabinet on Sunday after his reappointment as prime minister last week, helping to at least temporarily avoid a full-blown political crisis in Paris.
Fears of escalating trade tensions between the US and China have pushed stocks in Asia into the red again with the Hang Seng and the CSI300 falling sharply. This is outweighing better than expected trade data from China with forecast topping imports and exports failing to lift sentiment.
US markets fell sharply on Friday with the S&P 500 shedding 2.7%, its biggest drop since April and the Nasdaq plunging over 3.5% with tech stocks hit hardest because of their reliance on rare earths from China. Although futures are pointing to a partial rebound at the US market open.
Gold and silver prices are also scaling new highs. Spot gold rose more than 2% earlier and is now up 1.3% at $4,071 an ounce. The precious metal logged its eighth week of gains last week.
Meanwhile silver is up nearly 5% today, and platinum has risen by 2.7% amid a rally in precious metals. Scholar said:
The flight to safety trade has continued to propel gold and silver, fuelled by Trump’s unpredictability with the threat of fresh tariffs on China that raises concerns about an escalating trade war between the two superpowers. The developments sparked a heavy sell-off on Wall Street driven by tech stocks, with investors buying gold and silver instead.
Uncertainty has also weighed on the US dollar this year, with greenback weakness further underpinning gains for gold and silver. Central bank buying and Fed rate cuts have provided further tailwinds for gold. Silver has also been subject to a short squeeze, extending this year’s rally. Then the US government shutdown provides further uncertainty pushing up demand for safety assets. And there’s a feeling that many investors, unsure where to put there money, have been watching gold’s appreciation and have hopped on the bandwagon hoping not to miss out on the latest exciting investment idea.
One of Europe’s biggest farm machinery firms halts US exports over ‘hidden’ tariffs
One of Europe’s biggest farm machinery companies, Krone, has been forced to pause exports of large equipment to the US because of “alarming” and little-known new tariffs that are hitting hundreds of products from knitting needles and hair dryers to combine harvesters.
Among the products on the steel derivatives list drawn up in consultation with US manufacturers, Donald Trump is taxing 407 specific products ranging from tiny embroidery stilettos to cooker hoods, barbecues, fridges, freezers, dishwashers, hair curling tongs, grills, elevators, bridge and railway structures, agriculture equipment and wind turbines.
It has meant that since 18 August, companies such as Krone and the construction company Liebherr in Germany have to provide an unprecedented level of detail to customs border authorities certifying the origin, weight and value of any steel in their products right down to nuts and bolts.
If the US is determined to go its own way, China will resolutely take corresponding measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests, the Chinese foreign ministry said today, Reuters reports.
China urges the US to swiftly correct its “wrong practices”, ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a regular press briefing, when asked about Donald Trump’s plan to impose additional 100% tariffs on Chinese goods on 1 November.
The Chinese side urges the US to act on the basis of equality, respect and mutual benefit, Lin added.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at the trading platform interactive investor, said:
If investors had been hoping for a reason to let some air out of the tyres after a valuation-stretching run, the US president duly delivered.
His latest salvo reignited the war of words with the Chinese as he threatened further 100% tariffs given their current position on rare earth metals and was a stark reminder of the ongoing fractious relationship between the world’s two largest economies. Large technology shares found themselves at the eye of the storm given a large exposure to and relationship with the Chinese as customers, sending the Nasdaq some 3.6% lower, led by declines of nearly 5% for Nvidia and almost 8% for Advanced Micro Devices [on Friday].
The president’s propensity to shoot from the hip unsettles the investment environment, even though some are already speculating that the TACO trade is alive and well. His subsequent comments on social media over the weekend were decidedly more conciliatory, and at this very early stage, Dow futures are pointing to a brisk recovery which would lessen the blow of Friday’s bruising session.
European stocks open modestly higher; Taco trade ‘alive and well’
Stock markets in the UK and the rest of Europe have shrugged off the latest trade sabre-rattling from the US and China and opened modestly higher.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index rose by 15 points, or nearly 0.2%, to 9,442, while markets in France, Spain, Germany are all up by around 0.5%, after Friday’s sell-off, when the pan-European Stoxx 600 index dropped by 1.3%.
Investors are hoping that Washington will temper its latest escalation of the trade war with Beijing after Friday’s sell-off on Wall Street. US stock futures are pointing to a rally on Wall Street later.
Donald Trump indicated yesterday that the door was open to a trade deal, writing a more conciliatory post on social media.
Mining shares are leading the gains in London, with Fresnillo up by 4.8%, Endeavour Mining 4% ahead, and Antofagasta 1.2% ahead.
Sterling, which tends to benefit from risk appetite, much like the Australian dollar, stocks or crypto currencies, was up 0.24% at $1.3365, making it one of the better performing major currencies against the US dollar.
The dollar has slipped 0.1% against a basket of major currencies.
Tim Kelleher, head of institutional foreign exchange sales at Commonwealth Bank in Auckland, told Reuters:
Certainly, it’s pretty nervous out there.
If you look at the US and China stuff, it looks like Trump has done a bit of a TACO again and softened his tone.
He was referring to the trading adage that “Trump always chickens out”.
Lloyds puts aside extra £800m for car finance scandal
Lauren Almeida
Lloyds Banking Group has put aside an extra £800m to deal with possible compensation claims over the motor finance scandal, taking its total provision to almost £2bn.
The bank, which is one of the most exposed to an ongoing scandal in which drivers were overcharged for loans as a result of commission paid to car dealers, had previously set aside £1.15bn to deal with potential costs.
However, it said an additional charge of £800m reflects an increased likelihood of more historical cases, particularly those affected by “discretionary commission arrangements”, being eligible for compensation.
The new estimate comes after the Financial Conduct Authority published a 360-page consultation paper for its redress scheme. The regulator said last week that the mis-selling scandal would cost banks £11bn overall, though it could rise to £12.4bn if all victims apply and secure payouts as part of the scheme.
Lloyds said the ultimate outcome may “evolve in response to representations made by various parties as well as further legal proceedings and complaints or any other broader implications fo the Supreme Court judgement”.
Introduction: Asian stocks tumble on fresh US-China trade spat; Chinese exports top forecasts
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
Stock markets in Asia have tumbled, after the latest US tariff threat on China prompted Beijing to warn Washington of retaliation.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 2.1%, the Taiwanese market fell by 1.4% and the Thai exchange declined by 2%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen exchange fell by 1% and the Shanghai market slipped 0.2%. Japan’s Nikkei is closed.
Beijing has told the US it will retaliate if Donald Trump fails to back down on his threat to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese imports as investors brace for another bout of trade war turmoil.
China’s commerce ministry blamed Washington for raising trade tensions between the two countries after the US president announced on Friday that he would impose the additional tariffs on China’s exports to the US, along with new controls on critical software, by 1 November in a tit-for-tat, after China said it would restrict rare earth exports.
However, Trump and senior US administration officials opened a door to a China trade deal on Sunday when market futures showed another US stock market drop, but they have since bounced back and are now pointing to a higher open on Wall Street later. Trump wrote on Truth Social:
Don’t worry about China, it will all be fine! Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment. He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I. The U.S.A. wants to help China, not hurt it!!!
Despite the trade tensions, Chinese exports bounced back in September, topping forecasts after the world’s second-largest economy diversified its markets.
China’s exports rose by 8.3% year on year last month, according to customs data. This was the fastest growth since March, and beat a 6% increase forecast by economists polled by Reuters. It comes after a 4.4% increase in August.
Lynn Song, chief economist Greater China at ING, said:
China’s exports continued to beat forecasts in September, but the bigger surprise was the surge of imports to hit a 17-month high. This resilience shows that China has strengthened trade with the rest of the world amid US protectionism.
Chinese imports growth jumped to 7.4%, from 1.3% in August. This came as a surprise given the recent signs of relatively weak domestic demand.
Julian Evans-Pritchard, economist at Capital Economics, said:
While China’s economy has proven more resilient in the face of US tariffs than many had feared, there is still significant potential downside from a deeper rift with the US.
The Agenda
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IMF/World Bank meetings start in Washington
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Columbus Day in the US: stock markets open, bond markets shut
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10.30am BST: Dieselgate trial starts in UK’s high court
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11am BST: Nobel prize for economics
