BUSINESS LIVE: REA ups Rightmove offer; Galliford Try gains contract; Oxford Biomedica losses fall

REA Group has increased its takeover bid for Rightmove to £6.1billion, £500million higher than its initial proposal.

The Australian property listings website, whose majority owner is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has brought forward a new offer valuing Rightmove’s shares at 770p each.

Oxford Biomedica maintained its 2024 earnings outlook after reporting strong revenue growth in the first half of the year.

The gene and cell therapy firm, which last week rebranded as OXB, saw total revenue rise 18 per cent year-to-year to £50.8million for the six months ended 30 June.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, comments on the markets this morning.

Investors are still weighing the Federal Reserve’s blockbuster 50 basis point interest rate cut last week, which was seen in some quarters as worrying about the state of the world’s largest economy, despite the Fed’s best efforts to offer reassurance.

Retail stocks ticked higher while Endeavour Mining was among the gainers as gold hit yet another record high. The precious metal tends to benefit from a fall in inflation-adjusted interest rates and has also been in demand as tensions in the Middle East escalate.

These tensions have also helped oil to bounce from its recent lows, suggesting the respite motorists are enjoying on petrol prices, according to the latest figures from the RAC, may prove short-lived.

Asset manager Apollo is eyeing up a big investment in Intel, according to reports. This comes after the troubled chip giant agreed plans to spin off its manufacturing arm and an injection of capital may help the company with its aimed-for fresh start.

Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on REA Group’s new offer:

Rightmove shares had been affected by the property market downturn amid a ratcheting up in interest rates.

But now, with more cuts eyed on the horizon and a recovery in prices underway, there are now many more eyes on screen.

REA Group is clearly highly tempted by the sturdy fundamentals of the model, which offers an envious operating margin position of around 70%.

DIY alternatives may be growing, but they are only a small slice of the market, and many estate agents can’t afford not to advertise on Rightmove.

That’s demonstrated by their willingness to pay bigger sums to attract potential buyers

Oxford Biomedica cuts its operating losses by around a third in the first half of 2024 following strong revenue growth.

The biotech company said turnover was bolstered by ‘stronger levels of manufacturing and commercial development activity.’

Construction firm Galliford Try has won contracts from Wessex Water for work that could be worth over £400million.

It follows the company gaining deals from Southern Water valued at around £500million.

Bill Hocking, Chief Executive of Galliford Try, commented: ‘We are delighted to be working with our partners at Wessex Water.’

He added: ‘The significant increase in activity anticipated in the water sector is a key part of our Sustainable Growth Strategy, and we look forward to delivering for Wessex Water’s customers and stakeholders.’

REA Group has sweetened its takeover proposal for Rightmove to £6.1billion after two previous offers were rejected.

The online real estate advertising firm, whose majority owner is Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, has brought forward a new offer valuing Rightmove’s shares at 770 pence each.

More than 50 pubs a month on average were lost in England and Wales during the first half of 2024, analysis of Government data revealed today.

Real estate intelligence firm Altus Group said the overall number of pubs, including those which were vacant or being offered to let, fell to 39,096 at the end of June.

Nervousness in the City is palpable ahead of the Budget with apprehension about possible tax raids by Rachel Reeves on pensions.

As my colleague John-Paul Ford Rojas reported in our sister paper the Mail on Sunday, the bosses of leading pension companies are imploring the Chancellor not to launch a tax raid on those saving for retirement.

Labour is facing growing calls to block handouts for Drax after the ‘green’ energy firm was hit with an air pollution fine in Mississippi.

Drax – which has been given more than £6billion of subsidies for its power station in North Yorkshire – is currently waiting for ministers to decide whether to extend subsidies beyond 2027.