London pre-open: Small rise expected in early trading

2nd Apr 2012 07:26

City sources predict the FTSE 100 will open up 11 points from Friday's close of 5,768, buoyed by better-than-expected-data Chinese manufacturing data on Sunday. House building and construction group Galliford Try has reached financial close on the Gateshead regeneration programme, for which it was named preferred bidder a year ago. Galliford Try's consortium with Gateshead Council and housing association Home Group will now form a Local Asset Backed Vehicle to build 2,400 homes and associated community facilities, for both private sale and affordable housing. Hull-based telecoms firm KCom is following in the footsteps of its bigger rival, BT, and bringing forward planned payments to its defined benefit pension schemes. The group, which said it is trading in line with trends reported back in November, is throwing off so much cash that it feels able to make an accelerated payment of £10m to its pension schemes. This comprises £6.9m of advance payment to fiscal 2013's previously committed deficit contributions and an additional one-off contribution for fiscal 2012 of £3.1m. Robert Noel has formally taken over as Group Chief Executive at Land Securities, the largest Real Estate Investment Trust in the UK. Noel was previously Managing Director of the company's London Portfolio and is a recent recruit, having joined the firm from Great Portland Estates in 2010. He takes over from Francis Salway who was Chief Executive for seven years and left the business at the end of March.