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The Co-op, which is owned by its members, said the number of members had grown by 20% to 5.5 million, putting it on target to reach 8 million by 2030.
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The group has a partnership with Uber Direct, allowing shoppers to order groceries on the Co-op website with delivery through the Uber Eats’ network.
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It plans to open 120 new food stores by the end of next year. The 180-year-old group runs almost 2,400 supermarkets as well as funeral, insurance and legal services businesses. Food sales grew by 3.2% while legal services posted 35% revenue growth, the fastest-growing division.
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The Co-op made a profit before tax of £58m in the first half of the year, compared with a loss of £33m a year earlier. The group credited lower interest payments and strong Funeralcare investment returns. Revenues rose by £100m to £5.6bn.
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Shirine Khoury-Haq, the chief executive, said:
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We have delivered a strong performance for the first six months of this year as our strategy starts to gain real momentum. Although the external environment remains challenging, it is testament to the underlying strength of our Co-op that we have outperformed in all our markets while significantly increasing our investments in our colleagues, pricing and in the growth of our businesses.
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supermarket in London.”,”caption”:”Co-op supermarket in London.”,”credit”:”Photo by Hannah McKay/Reuters”}}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1727248052000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”03.07 EDT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1727248816000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”03.20 EDT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1727248817000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”03.20 EDT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”03.20″,”title”:”Co-op Group turns profitable with rapid business growth”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Wednesday, September 25, 2024 03:43 EDT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First Published Wednesday, September 25, 2024 02:30 EDT”},{“id”:”66f3a6cb8f0895dd122a74e9″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.
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The British online property portal Rightmove has rejected an improved £6.1bn takeover proposal from billionaire Rupert Murdoch’s REA Group, saying it undervalued the company.
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The Australian group said on Monday that it had made a third offer for the company, worth £6.1bn. But Rightmove said the increased proposal “continues to be unattractive and materially undervalues the company and its future prospects”.
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REA responded swiftly, saying it was “disappointed” by the latest rejection, and “frustrated” that the rejections aside, “REA has still had no substantive engagement with Rightmove”. It added:
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REA urges Rightmove shareholders to encourage the board of directors of Rightmove to engage in constructive discussions with REA to work towards a recommended transaction,
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ahead of next Monday’s “put up or shut up” deadline.
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Chinese stocks have rallied for a second day, fuelled by Beijing’s stimulus, while the rest of Asia is more mixed.
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The mainland China CSI 300 index rose by 1.68% following a 4.3% jump the day before, while Hong Kong’s Hang Sing added nearly 1% after Tuesday’s 4.1% leap. Japan’s Nikkei slipped by 0.26% while South Korea’s Kospi lost 1%.
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The People’s Bank of China launched a blitz of stimulus measures to support its economy, cutting the amount of cash banks must hold on their books, lowering several key interest rates and unveiling more support for the property market.
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The news lifted stocks around the world. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 celebrated its 41st record high yesterday.
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However, Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, cautioned:
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The problem is, the stimulus measures will take time to show in the economic data. And more worryingly, they won’t do much to fix the country’s deepest issues – they won’t reverse local governments’ heavy debt burden, China’s aging population, and will hardly boost the demand-led growth. As such long-term investors appreciate the efforts but prefer to watch from a distance for now.
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The Agenda
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8.30am BST: Sweden Riskbank interest rate decision
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12pm BST: US MBA Mortgage applications
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3pm BST: US New Home sales for August
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Main Events
Nelson Peltz's Trian Partners joined the board of pest-control company Rentokil Initial two weeks after the company issued a profit warning and its shares plummeted.
The stock is up 2.9% today.
Trian, a New York-based hedge fund Nelson Peltz and Peter Mayis an activist investor that holds 2.3% of Rentokil shares.
The company's research director is Brian Baldwinwill join Rentokil's board as a non-executive director from October 1 and will also sit on the nomination and remuneration committees. He has leadership roles in a number of Trian's investments and is also a director of UK fund manager Janus Henderson.
Richard SolomonsRentokil's chairman said:
We look forward to working with him to deliver long-term, sustainable value for our shareholders and, in particular, execute our plans to integrate the Terminix business and drive organic growth in our North American business.
Rentokil agreed to acquire US peer Terminix for $6.7 billion in December 2021, becoming the world's largest pest control company.
Rentokil warned that a slowing North American economy would reduce profits, and its shares plunged 19 percent on Sept. 11 as demand for its termite-control services dwindled.
Co-op Group returns to profitability with rapid trade growth
The Co-op Group, owner of Britain's seventh-largest supermarket chain, returned to the black as growing membership numbers and its quick commerce business helped offset rising costs.
The member-owned cooperative announced that its membership had increased by 20 percent to 5.5 million, with a goal of reaching 8 million by 2030.
The group has partnered with Uber Direct, allowing shoppers to order groceries on the Co-op website and have them delivered through the Uber Eats network.
The company plans to open 120 new food stores by the end of next year. The 180-year-old group also operates around 2,400 supermarkets, as well as funeral, insurance and legal services businesses. Food sales increased 3.2 percent, while legal services was the fastest growing division, with revenues up 35 percent.
The Co-op made pre-tax profits of £58 million in the first half of this year, compared with a loss of £33 million in the same period last year. The group credited lower interest payments and strong investment returns in funeral care. Revenue rose by £100 million to £5.6 billion.
Shireen Khoury HaqThe Chief Executive Officer said:
“The first half of the year has seen our strategy really take off, delivering strong results. Although the external environment remains challenging, our strong performance across all markets, combined with significantly increased investment in colleagues, pricing and business growth, is testament to the underlying strength of our Cooperative.”
The dollar weakened yesterday as Chinese monetary stimulus rippled through commodity markets, lifting many emerging market currencies.Analysts at ING said: Chris Turner.
The jury is still out on whether this Chinese stimulus will prove permanent for global currencies, but as evidence of a slowdown in the U.S. economy continues to accumulate, investors appear to be shifting to a dollar-selling mindset.
China's stimulus package was the top news item on the foreign exchange market yesterday, metals markets rose and currencies of emerging commodity exporters from Latin America and South Africa performed well.
The jury is still out on whether this theme will hold – if, for example, China's monetary stimulus was backed by fiscal stimulus (consumption vouchers?), I would have a bit more confidence that these near-term trends could continue.
Introduction: UK Right Move rejects £6.1bn offer from Murdoch's REA, Chinese shares continue to rise
Good morning and welcome to our continuing coverage of business, financial markets and the global economy.
British online property portal Rightmove has rejected a £6.1 billion takeover bid from billionaire Rupert Murdoch's REA Group, saying it undervalued the company.
The Australian group announced on Monday it had made a third takeover bid for the company worth 6.1 billion pounds, but Rightmove said the increased offer “continues to be unattractive and significantly undervalues the company and its future prospects”.
REA responded quicklyHe said he was “disappointed” by the refusal and was “frustrated” that, apart from the refusal, “the REA still has no real engagement with Right Move”.
The REA is urging Rightmove shareholders to encourage the Rightmove board to engage in constructive discussions with REA to work towards the recommended transaction.
With the “act or stay silent” deadline approaching next Monday.
Chinese stocks rose for a second straight day, boosted by Beijing's stimulus measures, but the rest of Asia was mixed.
Mainland China's CSI 300 index rose 1.68% following a 4.3% rise the previous day, while Hong Kong's Star Index rose nearly 1% following a 4.1% rise on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.26% and South Korea's KOSPI dropped 1%.
The People's Bank of China has rolled out a series of stimulus measures to support the economy, cutting the amount of cash banks must hold on their books, slashing several key interest rates and announcing further support for the property market.
The news boosted stock prices around the world: On Wall Street, the S&P 500 hit its 41st all-time high yesterday.
but, Ipek OzkardeskéyA senior analyst at Swissquote Bank, A, warned:
The problem is that the stimulus takes time to show up in economic data. And more worryingly, the stimulus won't do much to solve the country's deepest problems: It won't ease local government debt burdens or China's aging population, and it will do little to boost demand-led growth. So while long-term investors appreciate the stimulus, they prefer to keep a distance for now.
agenda
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8.30am BST: Sweden Risk Bank interest rate decision
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12pm BST: US MBA mortgage application
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3pm BST: US new home sales in August
