UK Construction Slows; RBS Sells Pubs Business

Arthi Gupta
02 Dec, 2011
New York City

The UK indexes climbed more than 1% and extended nearly 9% in the last six days. The UK construction activity eased in November. SABMiller plans to acquire all of the shares in Foster''s Group.

[R]3:15 PM London – The UK indexes climbed more than 1% and extended nearly 9% in the last six days. The UK construction activity eased in November. SABMiller plans to acquire all of the shares in Foster''s Group.[/R]

UK indexes gained and extended rally to the fifth day of the last six trading sessions as investors focused on the developments in the euro zone.

In London, FTSE 100 Index gained 49.51 or 0.9% to 5,538.75 and the pound edged higher to $1.5705. For the week, the FTSE 100 Index surged 7.3%.

The benchmark index surged to 9% from the low on November 24 of 5,106.03.

UK Construction Activity Slows

The UK construction activity eased in November, latest survey results from Markit Economics showed today.

The seasonally adjusted Markit/ Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply purchasing managers'' index for the construction sector fell to 52.3 in November, from 53.9 in October.

RBS Sells Pub Portfolio to Heineken

Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, the lender said it sold its tenanted pub business to Scottish & Newcastle Pub Co. (Management) Limited, a subsidiary of Dutch brewer Heineken N.V. for £422 million. The business comprises 918 pubs across the UK.

Gainers & Losers

Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust Plc rose 2.1% to 252.50 pence after the investment trust reported fiscal year 2011 net return on ordinary activities before taxation was a loss of £2.05 million compared to a profit of £28.80 million in the prior year.

HomeServe Plc soared 4.1% to 266.50 pence after the home insurer reached an agreement with Veolia Environnement SA to acquire 51% share of Doméo SA, its joint venture in France in which it already owns 49% for £83 million.

SABMiller Plc dipped 0.2% to 2,235.50 pence after the brewer said it will acquire all of the shares in beer maker Foster''s Group Ltd.

SDL Plc surged 6.6% to 624.50 pence after the information management company agreed to buy Alterian Plc, a developer of software tools, for 110 pence in cash, valuing the company at about £68.4 million.

The Berkeley Group Holdings Plc soared 6.9% to 1,354 pence after the residential property developer reported first-half revenues grew 20.4% to £404.92 million from £336.15 million last year. Pre-tax profit in the period surged 64.1% to £101.06 million from £61.58 million a year ago.