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Shares in Rentokil rose after a member of Nelson Peltz’s hedge fund was handed a seat on the royal rat catcher’s board.
The FTSE 100 pest control firm, which won contracts at Buckingham Palace in the 1960s, said Trian’s head of research Brian Baldwin will join from October, lifting it 4.5 per cent, or 16.1p, to 376.7p.
The New York activist investor, which was co-founded by billionaire Peltz, owns a 2.26 per cent stake in Rentokil. Peltz, whose daughter Nicola is married to Brooklyn Beckham, sits on the board of Magnum owner Unilever and will be hoping his firm can exert influence over another blue-chip firm.
Baldwin said Rentokil has ‘significant potential’ for growth.
Influence: Rentokil, which won contracts at Buckingham Palace in the 1960s, said Trian’s head of research Brian Baldwin will join from October
The FTSE 100 dipped 0.2 per cent, or 14.06 points, to 8268.70 while the FTSE 250 was down 0.1 per cent, or 14.68 points, to 20,755.44. The price of oil dropped as traders fretted over global demand.
A barrel of Brent crude fell by more than 2 per cent towards $73, sending BP down 2.4 per cent, or 9.9p, to 400.25p while Shell gave up 1.6 per cent, or 40p, to 2532p.
A bumper summer helped On the Beach report a record value of holidays booked.
Bookings rose 15 per cent to £1.2billion in the year to the end of September but there were ‘significant one-off costs’ linked to its new partnership with Ryanair, and it fell 2.9 per cent, or 4.2p, to 140.8p.
Meanwhile, DFS reported resilient results as consumers reined in spending.
The furniture retailer’s orders, which fell 1.8 per cent in the 12 months to the end of June, rose in the first 12 weeks of the new financial year.
Shares gained 6.6 per cent, or 7.6p, to 122.6p.
Stock Watch – Cirata
Cirata plunged 15.2 per cent, or 4.4p, to 24.5p, after its finance boss revealed he will leave after less than two years in the job.
Ijoma Maluza, who joined the data specialist in April 2023, was brought in to help turn around the company.
He will step down in December and be replaced by Ricardo Moura, who will join next week.
Cirata, formerly known as Wandisco, underwent a major rebrand following last year’s accounting scandal.
Dialight edged back up 1.7 per cent, or 3p, to 182p, a day after the conclusion of its litigation trial with its former manufacturing partner.
A jury awarded the London-listed LED maker £670,000 damages following Sanmina’s breach of contract.
But Dialight also announced it was ‘considering potential post-trial motions’ after the trial ruled it should pay £6.5million damages to Sanmina. Dialight fell 28.4 per cent on Tuesday.
Raspberry Pi extended its gains a day after the Cambridge computer business revealed profits rose 55 per cent to £16million in the first half of 2024.
Shares, which rose 6.6 per cent on Tuesday, added 5 per cent, or 18.4p, to 389.6p yesterday.
Tekcapital reported a bumper first half as assets soared 46 per cent to £52million.
The investment group said expansion of Microsalt’s retail distribution and Guident’s second grant from Space Florida boosted its portfolio, and it rose 6.8 per cent, or 0.43p, to 6.75p.
Funding Circle co-founder and former chief executive Samir Desai will step down from the board next month.
He set up the small firm lending platform in 2010, and has been a non-executive for three years, a role he took on after handing the reins to Lisa Jacobs.
He said he would step down on October 25 when his three-year term comes to an end, but will remain a shareholder in the peer-to-peer lender. Shares fell 2 per cent, or 2.5p, to 124.5p.
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