Daily Mirror - 30.08.2019

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6

Telecoms firm Vodafone will sponsor Porsche’s

Formula E team when it charges off the starting grid

in November. Vodafone has signed a five-year deal to be

the official communication partner of the Porsche

Formula E Works Programme and will have its branding on

the drivers’ clothing. Porsche’s Formula E cars will be the

first all-electric racing cars in the German race

manufacturer’s

illustrious

history.

EU feel fear,

polls reveal

No-deal risk hits confidence levels

BY DAVID CRAIK

RISING fears of economic chaos
following a no-deal Brexit are
battering consumer and business
confidence in the UK.
Just a day after Prime Minister Boris
Johnson moved to suspend Parliament
in the run-up to Brexit on October 31, a
raft of surveys showed the damage
already being done to the economy.
GfK’s latest consumer confidence
report revealed a drop of three points to
minus 14 in August “in the face of pre-
Brexit nerves”. It said consumers were
more concerned about the fate of their
personal finances and the general
economy over the next 12 months.
Its major purchase index, which
indicates confidence in buying big ticket
items, also fell three points.
Joe Staton, client strategy director at
GfK, said: “Until Brexit leaves the front
pages, consumers can be forgiven for
feeling nervous. If there is a continua-

tion of that dip in our feelings about our

future wallets, we’d quickly see a

headline score crash to a level that

approaches the figures seen in the

worst days of the 2008/2009 crisis.”

Lloyds Banking Group said busi-

ness confidence in the UK for the

month had also plunged.

Hann-Ju Ho, Lloyds commercial

banking senior economist, said

firms appeared “less positive

about their own trading pros-

pects and the broader economy”.

The European Commission’s

Economic Sentiment Indicator for

Britain also fell to 92.5 from 94.3 in July,

its lowest since September 2012.

Meanwhile, US bank JP Morgan said

there was now more than a one-in-

three chance that the UK leaves the

EU without a deal. “The prorogation

decision has constrained the time

available to force a different path,” said

economist Allan Monks.

[email protected]

@grahamhiscott

020 7293 3030

mirror.co.uk/business

Edited by

GRAHAM

FINANCE HISCOTT

Tesco ........................................218.8 0.0

Thomas Cook ...........................5.5 -0.4

Unilever ...............................5150.0 +14.0

United Utilities ...................807.6 +1.6

Vodafone ...............................155.9 +3.1

Reach PLC .............................90.0 0.0

RELX ......................................1972.5 +14.0

Rentokil Initial ....................449.3 +3.7

Rio Tinto .............................4043.0 +54.0

Rolls-Royce ..........................754.2 +9.2

Royal Dutch Shell B .......2288.5 +18.0

Royal Mail ............................208.0 +4.1

RSA ..........................................523.2 +2.8

RBS ...........................................183.5 +0.8

J Sainsbury .........................200.0 +2.8

SSE ...........................................1124.5 +5.5

Severn Trent .....................2060.0 +3.0

Serco........................................142.5 +1.2

Sports Direct .......................246.8 +3.8

Smith & Nephew ..............1968.0 +1.0

Smiths WH ...........................1947.0 -17.0

Stagecoach ...........................125.5 +0.9

Standard Chartered ..........621.0 +10.4

Standard Life

Aberdeen ..............................248.9 +2.5

TalkTalk ...................................103.6 +0.2

Taylor Wimpey .....................143.7 +0.5

Ferguson ............................5926.0 +106.0

GlaxoSmithKline ..............1709.4 +17.0

Halfords ..................................179.5 0.0

Hays .........................................138.0 -1.1

HSBC ........................................591.5 +9.7

Imperial Brands ...............2097.0 +36.0

International Airlines

Grp ...........................................425.4 +8.7

ITV ..............................................116.8 +2.0

Kingfisher ..............................193.3 -0.8

Land Securities ..................775.2 +3.4

Legal & General ...................218.6 +1.9

Lloyds ........................................49.8 +0.3

Marks & Spencer ................188.3 -0.5

Morrison .................................183.9 -0.3

National Grid .......................853.8 -0.8

Next ......................................5840.0 0.0

Ocado ....................................1281.5 +53.5

Pearson .................................834.8 +12.0

Prudential ...........................1347.0 +21.0

Reckitt Benckiser ............6373.0 +8.0

Anglo American ...............1738.8 +21.2

AB Foods ............................2263.0 +3.0

Admiral Group ..................2120.0 -4.0

AstraZeneca .....................7365.0 +99.0

Aviva PLC ..............................354.9 +1.4

BAE Systems........................543.8 +7.0

BAT ........................................2872.0 +42.0

Balfour Beatty .....................212.6 +4.4

Barclays...................................137.5 +1.4

BHP Group ..........................1730.0 +18.0

BR Land Co ...........................507.8 -2.0

BP .............................................502.9 +4.1

BT ..............................................164.0 +1.4

Capita Group ........................125.0 +0.8

Carnival ..............................3462.0 +96.0

Centrica ...................................68.3 +0.8

Compass ............................2078.0 -3.0

Diageo .................................3490.0 +35.5

Direct Line ............................286.5 +0.2

Dixons Carphone ................106.7 -0.7

Easyjet ...................................966.0 +21.2

Ei Group ..................................281.0 -1.2

FTSE 100 up^ 69.6^ at^ 7184.3 Oil = $60.78 Holiday £yyyyyyyy

Euro _____________________________1.0740

Australian Dollar _______________ 1.7624

Bulgarian Lev _________________ 2.0038

Canadian Dollar ________________ 1.5727

Croatian Kuna __________________7.6219

Czech Koruna ________________ 26.6561

Egyptian Pound ______________ 17.5367

New Zealand Dollar __________ 1.8094

Polish Zloty ___________________ 4.4886

South African Rand __________18.1309

Swiss Franc _____________________1.1604

Thai Baht _____________________35.2157

Turkish Lira ___________________6.6684

UAE Dirham _____________________4.3115

US Dollar ________________________1.1904

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Hlid £

Slim-cost gym

wins if we trim

The Gym Group said it was prepared for any

downturn yesterday as a surge in new

members helped pump up profits.

“We don’t fear a recession if it comes

because we launched during the last one and

we’ve kept growing,” said boss Richard

Darwin. “We offer low-cost gym membership

to people who could never afford it before,

and we attract those looking to save money

by trading down from pricier rivals.”

The group, with 165 sites, said membership

numbers rose 10.6% to 790,000 in the

first six months of the year, helping

profits to climb 53.3% to

£7.1million. Revenues skipped

26.9% higher to £74million.

The average monthly

spend per member rose

by 5.6% to £15.47 as

more people signed up

to premium services

such as “bring a friend”

and the use of its muscle-

measuring machine FitQuest.

Convenience

store McColl’s has

blamed soggy summer

weather and Brexit for a

slump in sales. The group,

which has around 1,550 UK

stores, said sales had fallen

2.2% in the 13 weeks to

August 25 with year-to-

date demand down

0.1%.

IT SEEMS NOTHING IS FOREVER...

6

Goals

Soccer

Centres has

put itself up

for sale as it tries to

survive a multi-million-pound

accountancy fraud.

The five-a-side football pitch

operator, which employs 700

people at 45 UK and four US sites,

said it had started a process to

invite offers for the business and

appointed Deloitte to find a buyer.

Goals is under investigation for a

£12million VAT accounting fraud

and has already admitted that it

will not have full-year

accounts signed off by

the end of September.

This means it will

de-list from the

stock market.

It is expected

that Mike Ashley’s

Sports Direct,

which already has a

19% stake, will be

seeking a deal.

6

Recruitment firm Hays said economic

weakness in both Germany and Britain had

hit profits. It revealed a 3% fall in pre-tax profits

to £231million for the year to June 30 as

Germany was battered by a slowdown in its

manufacturing and car sectors. It also reported

“signs of reduced business confidence” in the UK.

Restructuring costs of £6.8million and a

one-off charge of £8million to equalise pension

provision for men and women also hit the

company’s figures.

US fashion firm Forever 21 is

preparing to file for bankruptcy

according to reports.

The group, which has three stores

in the UK but around 800 worldwide,

is believed to be considering its

future after attempts to restructure

its debt with lenders failed.

Sources said that a filing would

enable the 35-year-old firm,

which according to its website

is the fifth largest speciality

retailer in the United States, to

close unprofitable stores.