UK Mortgage Lending Drops; LSE Group Revenues Up 2%

Arthi Gupta
20 Jul, 2011
New York City

The UK indexes climbed after gross mortgage lending fell in June. The Bank of England policymakers remained divided on rates and quantitative easing. Melrose completed the disposal of Dynacast division for

[R]3:40 PM London – The UK indexes climbed after gross mortgage lending fell in June. The Bank of England policymakers remained divided on rates and quantitative easing. Melrose completed the disposal of Dynacast division for £377 million. Yell Group plunged 12% after first quarter revenues declined.[/R]

The Bank of England''s policymakers remained split over the decision to maintain the interest rate at a record low in July, the minutes of the meeting published today showed.

The meeting was held on July 6 and 7.

The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 7-2 to retain the rate at a record low 0.5% with Spencer Dale and Martin Weale demanding a quarter-point increase in the rate.

However, eight members voted to leave the size of asset purchase program unchanged at £200 billion with the lone dissenter being Adam Posen who sought a £50 billion increase in the program.

In London, FTSE 100 Index gained 48.63 or 0.83% to 5,838.04 and the pound edged higher to $1.6126.

UK Gross Mortgage Lending Drops

UK gross mortgage lending declined 3% from a year ago in June to £12.6 billion, according to data published by the Council of Mortgage Lenders today. This was the highest monthly total since July last year.

Melrose Completes Dynacast Disposal

Melrose Plc completed the disposal of its Dynacast division for an enterprise value of £377 million or $607 million.

The Melrose board intends to return approximately £373 million to shareholders.

Gainers & Losers

Afren plc gained 1.5% to 152 pence after the independent oil and gas exploration and production company reported first-half revenue of $160.8 million compared with $214.8 million last year, with cash at bank amounting to $320 million and net debt of $344 million.

Entertainment One Ltd. climbed 0.53% to 189.50 pence after the independent entertainment business said first quarter revenues increased 4.9% on a constant currency basis.

London Stock Exchange Group Plc rose 1.96% to 1,016 pence after the diversified stock exchange group reported first quarter total revenues rose 2% from a year ago to £162.4 million.

Total income for the period, comprising revenues and other income, grew to £190.2 million from last year''s £167.3 million.

Playtech Ltd. surged 10.19% to 373 pence after the provider of software and content to online and land-based gaming industry said second quarter total revenues grew 7% to €39.59 million from €36.83 million a year ago. On a like-for-like basis, excluding France, total revenues increased 19% from last year.

Separately, Playtech said it agreed to acquire Swedish mobile platform developer Mobenga AB and signed a long-term software contract with international gaming group, Gala Coral.

Yell Group Plc plunged 11.62% to 6.62 pence after the print and digital marketing services provider reported first quarter group revenue declined 11.1% to £383.3 million from last year at constant currency.