He’s so not Moneysupermarket.
The price comparison website’s co-founder Simon Nixon sold 20 million shares, raising some £60 million and relinquishing some control of the group by cutting his stake to 12.8%.
Nixon set up the price comparison website after dropping out of university and starting the business at the height of the dotcom boom.
He will remain on the board as a non-executive director but will no longer have the right to nominate a fellow non-executive to the board, a right that he never executed.
Nixon has slashed his stake in the group in recent years, offloading £200 million worth of shares in June 2013 and a further £129 million in March of last year. The shares fell 12.9p to 289.7p.
The FTSE 100 rose despite inflation data showing the UK entered a period of deflation, largely caused by a drop in the cost of energy.
“Equity traders have been given another reason to buy into the market as the interest rate hike fades from the horizon,” David Madden of IG said. The blue-chip index was trading up 19.76 at 6988.63.
BTG was under the spotlight after reporting margins and profits “modestly” below estimates, according to Deutsche Bank. However, the difference isn’t meaningful given the company’s current investment phase, said the European broker.
Shares in the speciality pharma group, which makes products to treat varicose veins and blood clots, as well as antidotes for snake venom, fell 32p to 751p.
“We remain optimistic on the long-term outlook, with US Varithena feedback encouraging but its initial sales could stall share price momentum,” said Jefferies.
FinnCap analyst Keith Redpath said sales of Varithena for varicose veins were lower than he expected.
“We still believe BTG’s shares are valued at an unwarranted premium to its sector peers and therefore reiterate our sell recommendation and 562p target price,” he said.
Fellow FTSE 250 loser Aveva reversed yesterday’s gains, sparked by bid speculation, to fall back by 60p to 1927.3p following in-line full-year results which offered no update on any possible approach.
Numis upgraded earnings forecasts after the results, reiterating an add stance.
London publishing house Bloomsbury said the year had started well as it announced a rise in the dividend alongside in-line full-year results.
Revenues at the group, best known for publishing the Harry Potter series after numerous rival publishing houses turned down JK Rowling, were boosted by the runaway success of Khaled Hosseini’s And The Mountains Echoed.
Peel Hunt analysts reiterated a 190p price target and buy recommendation. The shares were unchanged at 178p.
