FTSE 100 live: Netflix Roald Dahl deal, stocks rebound on Evergrande hopes

Luxury goods giant LVMH has outlined plans to go on a major hiring spree.

The Paris-listed company behind brands such as Louis Vuitton and Celine wants to recruit 25,000 people under the age of 30 by the end of 2022.

The global search for talent will help add to its existing workforce, currently around 165,000 employees.

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NETFLIX is stepping into the gloriumptious world of Roald Dahl with the acquisition of the company which licences the author’s works.

The streaming giant intends to build a “unique universe” around the likes of Matilda, the BFG and Willie Wonka with initial plans for 19 animated and live action films, new TV series, video games and stage shows.

No price has been attached.

Luke Kelly, grandson of the late writer and RDSC’s MD, said: “Being part of a larger company supports our mission to share the stories’ messages of hope and the power and the possibility of young people.”

Dahl, who died in 1990 aged 74, remains popular with young readers around the world and several of his books such as “The BFG”, “Fantastic Mr Fox” and most recently “The Witches” have been turned into movies and stage shows.

“As we bring these timeless tales to more audiences in new formats, we’re committed to maintaining their unique spirit and their universal themes of surprise and kindness, while also sprinkling some fresh magic into the mix,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said.

Jonathan Myers, who is pursuing a long-term turnaround strategy at the listed company, told the Standard it is facing “unprecedented” raw materials price hikes, as well as seeing the overall cost of shipping and trucking goods to the UK from Asia and Africa rise by around 10%.

Myers said: “We are trying to work lots of levers to offset [these cost rises] and protect margins. Where necessary there will be price increases, but we are really trying to avoid this.”

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Oxford Biomedica today announced a £50million cash injection from the world’s biggest vaccine maker.

The Oxford University spin-off, which has been pumping out tens of millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 jab, said the cash from India’s Serum Institute – in return for a 3.9% stake – would enable it to expand its research and manufacturing capacity.

The investment caps a bumper six months for the biotech, led since 2008 by CEO John Dawson, which generated underlying profits of £27.1million on revenues of £81.3million, up 139% on the first half.

It will be used to almost double the available lab and manufacturing space within its 84000sq ft Oxbox plant – a converted Royal Mail sorting office – and to recruit another 120 staff, taking the headcount to around 850.

Revenues for the half were “largely driven” by its tie-up with Astra, expected to reach £100million this year.

But the company is using its strong balance sheet and enhanced profile to expand its own pipeline of genetic therapies and to further develop the viral vectors used to deliver cancer, cystic fibrosis and other drugs produced by partners including Novartis, Orchard Therapeutics and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Dawson today did his best to dampen speculation he may be considering a move after more than a decade at the helm: “We’ve nothing to update the market on at this point in time. I’m here, I’m keen and I’m working hard,” he said.

Shares are up 52% so far this year, and rose 6% this morning to 1566.0p, making it the top gainer on the FTSE250 and valuing the firm at around £1.3billion.

Bowling alley group Ten Entertainment today said the staycation boom resulted in “exceptional” trading over summer.

The AIM-listed listed firm, which has 46 centres, including in Acton and Croydon, reported a £10.8 million pre-tax loss for the six months to June 27. It had to close sites for part of that period owing to lockdowns.

But it added that comparable sales over the past three months have leapt.

It cautioned that current strong demand is “likely to moderate to high single digit [growth] in 2021 as the staycation bubble subsides”. But the full year outlook is still ahead of previous management expectations.

The shares rose 8.24p to 263.24p.

Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddy Power, has reached a deal to settle a long-running legal dispute with the state of Kentucky.

Kentucky has been pursuing PokerStars for over a decade after accusing the site of letting Kentucky residents gamble on its site between 2007 and 2011. Flutter acquired PokerStars through its merger with the Stars Group last year.

Flutter today agreed to pay $200 million (£146 million) to settle the case, alongside $100 million already forfeited as bond. Kentucky has agreed to stop pursuing Flutter in response.

The settlement is much lower than the $1.3 billion Flutter was ordered to pay last December by the Kentucky Supreme Court, following a length legal battle. Flutter had challenged that ruling in the US Supreme Court but pursued a remediated settlement alongside that process.

The FTSE 100 index has made a stronger-than-epxected start, rising almost 1% or 67.82 points to 7,048.80 thanks to a big rebound for mining stocks.

Shares in the likes of BHP, Anglo American and Antofagasta have fallen sharply in recent weeks due to lower prices for iron ore and copper. However, the trio surged 4% today on hopes that China’s embattled real estate group Evergrande, which triggered a sharp market sell-off on Monday, will strike a deal over a bond interest payment due imminently.

There was no surprise to discover Entain at the top of the FTSE 100 risers board, with the Ladbrokes owner’s shares up 9% or 197p to 2,458p after confirming the details of a takeover approach.

The share price remains well short of the 2,800p being offered by DraftKings, partly because most of the US firm’s proposal is in shares and also due to the potential for a veto from Entain’s US partner MGM Resorts.

Today’s statement from the Federal Reserve won’t just be closely watched for signals on when the central bank might begin tapering of economic support.

The dot plot, which charts the timelines for rate hikes or cuts, could trigger a further rally for the US dollar if it shows more Fed members moving interest rate hiking expectations into 2022 from 2023.

Oanda’s Jeffrey Halley said: “We may not get a taper tantrum lite from tapering comments, but we could from a more hawkish dot plot. I’ve long given up hope that US bond yields will react materially, but we could see a further extension to the US dollar rally and equities and commodities probably won’t have a good day at the office.”

In the June meeting there were seven dots indicating a rates lift off in 2022, so an increase could also be interpreted as signalling a faster taper.

Michael Hewson, of CMC Markets, added: “The one fly in the ointment given the risks emanating from events in China is whether the Fed adopts a less hawkish stance in order to buy itself some time until the situation becomes clearer.”

It’s been a volatile week so far in the London market, with Monday’s contagion fears triggered by China’s debt-laden property firm Evergrande followed by Turnaround Tuesday and a rise of more than 1%.

The FTSE 100 index is set to open 10 points higher at 6,991, although this is more likely to reflect the reluctance of investors to commit new money ahead of big statements from the US Federal Reserve later today and the Bank of England tomorrow.

Investors will be looking for clues over when the Federal Reserve will begin to taper economic support, possibly as soon as December.

Asian markets posted modest losses overnight, suggesting sentiment may be stabilising after the turbulence earlier in the week.

News from a non-listed company in the hospitality sector: Pret A Manger is looking to open more UK sites.

Boss Pano Christou has called the last fortnight in London “a bit of a turning point” in terms of trade bouncing back from the pandemic, and his firm is planning 200 more UK branch openings.

The sandwich chain’s City shops are now trading at over 70% of their pre-pandemic levels, and a lot of that growth has come in the last few weeks.

Improved sales will come as a relief after customer numbers plunged during the pandemic, with Pret A Manager permanently closing around 30 sites last year.

Accounts filed this week at Companies House will show revenue for 2020 was £299 million, down from £708 million a year earlier.

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