London midday: Man leads London lower

28th Sep 2010 12:22

Confirmation that the UK economy grew 1.2% in the second quarter, its fastest pace in nine years, has done little to quell concerns about future economic growth, both here and abroad, and that prompted a subdued mood in London in the morning session. Hedge fund manager Man is the weakest of the blue-chips after its pre-close trading update. Its first half profits will fall by a fifth to $215m as performance fees dwindled after a tough half for its flagship AHL fund. Funds under management have stabilised recently and the end of September were up over the previous three months to $39.5bn from $38.5bn.Among second liners tour operator Thomas Cook is the big faller after it said it has now started a review of its UK cost base after softer than expected business over the summer and in view of the difficult market backdrop. "Our cost experience in the UK has not been as favourable as expected, particularly in the airline, and this will result in a net impact of around £10m on the underlying operating profit," Thomas Cook said. It will take a £10m restructuring charge.Thomas Cook's FTSE 100-listed peer TUI Travel dips in sympathy.Accountancy software giant Sage Group tops the list of FTSE 100 risers as rumours of an imminent bid approach refuse to die down. The latest company to be added to the list of likely bidders is French software titan Capgemini.With just days to go until its year-end, newspaper publisher Daily Mail and General Trust expects the full-year result to be at least in line with the City consensus. Underlying revenue rose 2% during the 11 months to the end of August, but fell 7% on a reported basis, although trading remains "robust" and the business to business (B2B) and consumer media businesses report underlying growth.Irn-Bru maker AG Barr achieved sales growth well in advance of the market in the first half of its financial year. Total turnover at the fizzy drinks firm in the six months to 31 July rose 13.9% to £119.2m from £103.7m in the corresponding period of 2009. Underlying profit before tax increased by 18.8% to £16.0m from £13.5m the year before.Specialist mortgage provider Paragon expects full-year profit to be at the top end of analysts' forecasts and is going to restart buy-to-let lending immediately after securing a new loan facility. A "strong" performance in the first 11 months means operating profit before exceptional and fair value items for the year to September 30 should be towards the upper end of the £40.5m-£65m range.Close Brothers has had a "good" result for the full-year, driven by strength at the banking business, and the merchant bank expects a "satisfactory" outcome for 2011.Computer games retailer Game slumped into the red as the boost from the launch of Nintendo's Wii faded away. Losses in the half year to July came in at £21.5m, compared to a profit of £10.8m. Revenues fell to £625m from £691m, with like-for-like sales over the period down by 10.9%. FTSE 100 - RisersSage Group (SGE) 272.30p +2.25%Essar Energy (ESSR) 444.80p +1.44%Resolution (RSL) 238.80p +1.23%Prudential (PRU) 623.00p +1.22%Invensys (ISYS) 297.80p +1.15%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,470.00p +0.82%Amec (AMEC) 993.50p +0.81%Compass Group (CPG) 542.50p +0.74%ICAP (IAP) 435.80p +0.72%Next (NXT) 2,215.00p +0.68%FTSE 100 - FallersMan Group (EMG) 213.20p -2.78%BAE Systems (BA.) 338.30p -2.34%African Barrick Gold (ABG) 568.50p -1.73%Hammerson (HMSO) 396.70p -1.71%SABMiller (SAB) 1,982.00p -1.54%ARM Holdings (ARM) 404.00p -1.34%WPP Group (WPP) 711.50p -1.18%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 48.29p -1.07%Lonmin (LMI) 1,674.00p -1.06%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,259.00p -1.06%FTSE 250 - RisersParagon Group Of Companies (PAG) 172.20p +5.45%Computacenter (CCC) 309.70p +4.81%Croda International (CRDA) 1,522.00p +4.39%FTSE 250 - FallersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 172.40p -5.95%Pace (PIC) 177.80p -3.79%COLT Group S.A. (COLT) 118.10p -3.43%