FTSE 100 Rises as UK Economy Avoids Contraction in 1Q

0821 GMT - The FTSE 100 gains 0.4% to 7499 points after the latest U.K. GDP data released on Friday showed the economy escaped a recession and expanded by 0.1% quarter-on-quarter in the first three months of 2023. "The UK has limped through the first few months of the year thanks to a surprisingly resilient consumer market and what is likely to have been a rush by businesses to make the most of generous tax breaks on investment before they came to an end," writes Danni Hewson, AJ Bell's head of financial analysis. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

COMPANIES NEWS:

Barratt Developments Agrees to GBP168.4 Mln Sale of Homes to Lloyds Banking Subsidiary

Barratt Developments said Friday that it has agreed to the future sale of 604 homes to Citra Living Properties, a wholly-owned Lloyds Banking Group subsidiary, for a total cash consideration of 168.4 million pounds ($212.4 million).

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Vanquis Banking Names Peter Estlin as Next Chair Subject to Regulatory Approval

Vanquis Banking Group Friday named independent nonexecutive director Peter Estlin as its next chair, taking over from Chair Patrick Snowball, subject to regulatory approval.

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Endeavour Mining Cuts 2023 Production Guidance After Non-Core Asset Sale

Endeavour Mining on Friday cut its 2023 production guidance as it sold two of its non-core mines in Burkina Faso for more than $300 million in cash and net smelter return royalties.

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Pendragon Says Chairman Plans to Step Down; Positive Momentum Persists into 2Q

Pendragon said Friday that nonexecutive Chairman Ian Filby intends to step down to pursue other interests, and that positive business momentum has persisted in the second quarter of the year.

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M.J. Gleeson Agrees to Sell 288 Homes for GBP50.4 Mln to Carlyle, Gatehouse

M.J. Gleeson said Friday that it has entered a contract to sell 288 homes to global investment firm Carlyle Group and Gatehouse Investment Management for a total cash consideration of 50.4 million pounds ($63.6 million).

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Medica Group Confirms 212 Pence Final Dividend After Resolution Withdrawn

Medica Group said Friday that it will withdraw a resolution to declare a reduced final dividend for 2022, and that this will ensure shareholders receive 212 pence ($2.67) a share.

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DP Poland 2022 Pretax Loss Was Flat; Sees Growth Trends Continuing This Year

DP Poland on Friday said it pretax loss for 2022 was stable on year as higher costs offset a rise in revenue and said it sees positive growth trends continuing into 2023.

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Advanced Oncotherapy Shares Suspended; Urgently Needs Financing to Continue

Advanced Oncotherapy said Friday that its shares have been suspended pending clarification of its financial position, and it urgently requires additional financing in order to continue as a going concern.

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Induction Healthcare Names Paul Tambeau CEO, John McIntosh CFO

Induction Healthcare Group on Friday named Paul Tambeau as its chief executive officer and John McIntosh as its chief finance officer with immediate effect.

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B90 Holdings 2022 Pretax Loss Widened on Higher Expenses; Raises Going Concern Uncertainty

B90 Holdings on Friday reported a widened pretax loss for last year as it booked higher salary expenses, impairment charges and amortization of assets, and said that it has raised a further 2 million euros ($2.2 million) via convertible loan note subscriptions.

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Kropz Shares Fall on AIM Suspension After Missed Annual Accounts Deadline

Shares in Kropz fell Friday after it said that its shares will be suspended from trading on London Stock Exchange's AIM market from July 3, pending publication of its 2022 accounts which were due to be published by the June 30 deadline.

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Jadestone Energy to Create COO Role, Backs 2023 Guidance

Jadestone Energy said Friday that it will create the role of chief operating officer so as to strengthen the executive management team, and backed its production, underlying operating costs and capital expenditure guidance for 2023.

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Supply@ME Capital to Sell 81% Stake in TradeFlow for GBP14.4 Mln

Supply@ME Capital said Friday that it will sell 81% of its ownership in TradeFlow Capital Management for 14.4 million pounds ($18.2 million) to better serve clients and funders of both businesses, and create shareholder value.

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Trackwise Designs Shares Drop on 2022 Report Delay, Widened Losses

Shares in Trackwise Designs slumped Friday after the company said publication of its 2022 annual report will miss the deadline as it has experienced delays in completing the audit process, and that it expects its losses for the year to have widened.

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Caspian Sunrise Stock Falls on Temporary Share Suspension; Dividend Suspension

Caspian Sunrise shares fell Friday after it said it expects its shares to be temporarily suspended due to a delay in publishing 2022 accounts, and said it will suspend further dividend payments.

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Barryroe Offshore Energy Seeks Approval to Cancel AIM, Euronext Listings

Barryroe Offshore Energy said Friday that it is planning to seek shareholder approval to cancel the trading of its shares on London's junior AIM and the Euronext Growth market following its decision to wind down the business.

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Harvest Minerals Shares Fall on Lower 1H New Sales

Shares in Harvest Minerals fell Friday after the company said first-half new sales of its KP Fertil fertilizer came in at 27,000 metric tons, well short of the expected 60,000 tons.

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Kinross Gold Rejected Endeavour Mining Takeover Approach, Bloomberg Reports

--Kinross Gold Corp. rejected a takeover approach from Endeavour Mining in recent months, Bloomberg reports, citing unnamed sources.

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Heathrow Airport Appoints Thomas Woldbye as CEO

London's Heathrow Airport said Friday that Thomas Woldbye has been appointed chief executive officer and will take up the post after CEO John Holland-Kaye steps down later in the year.

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Ethernity Networks Shares Slip on Widened 2022 Earnings Loss

Ethernity Networks shares fell Friday after the company said its 2022 gross margin declined and its earnings loss widened on higher costs, though pretax loss narrowed and revenue rose.

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Strip Tinning Has Been Ebitda Positive Each Month So Far This Year

Strip Tinning Holdings said Friday that it has been positive on an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization level for each month so far this year and expects to meet full-year market expectations.

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Michelmersh Brick Restarts Share Buyback Program of Up to GBP2 Mln

Michelmersh Brick Holdings said Friday that it intends to restart its share buyback program, buying up to 2.0 million pounds ($2.5 million) of shares to reduce its share capital and return value to shareholders.

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LoopUp Group Reports Wider 2022 Operating Loss Than Preliminary Figure After Audit

LoopUp Group on Friday said its operating loss figure for 2022 is higher than its preliminary one following an adjustment from a non-cash one-off charge that was raised as part of the audit process.

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tinyBuild Shareholders Reject CEO Stake Increase Without Offer Resolution; Shares Rise

Shares of tinyBuild rose 16% on Friday after the company said that the resolution seeking approval for Chief Executive Alex Nichiporchik to increase his shareholding up to 45% without having to make a full offer for the company was rejected by independent shareholders at the annual general meeting on Thursday.

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Lombard Odier Asset Management Raises Seeing Machines' Stake to 15.4%

Seeing Machines said Friday that Lombard Odier Asset Management (Europe) has bought 13,550 pounds ($17,089) worth of shares and now owns 15.4% of the company's issued share capital.

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Seeing Machines Extends CEO Paul McGlone's Contract by 3 Years

Seeing Machines said Friday that Chief Executive Paul McGlone's employment contract has been extended by three years through to June 30, 2026.

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NATS (En Route) FY 2023 Pretax Profit Rose on Flights Increase

NATS (En Route) said Friday that pretax profit rose for fiscal 2023 as the number of flights recovered strongly after travel restrictions were eased during 2022.

MARKET TALK:

Thames Water Corporate Bond Spreads Deteriorate on Increased Uncertainty About Its Future

0955 GMT - Thames Water corporate bond spreads continue to widen as uncertainty grows about the future of the company, writes David Everson, Liquidnet's head of fixed income trading. "Pressure continues to pile on the utility and attention remains on its significant outstanding debt, at the mercy of surging inflation," he writes. The spreads widening is an opportunity to make money by those willing to take a bet on the company, according to Everson. Bond traders are likely to pay close attention to the U.K.'s utilities sector after recent reports showed "deep-rooted issues" in the sector, Everson writes. (miriam.mukuru@wsj.com)

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Renalytix's Landmark FDA Approval for Kidney Test Boosts Shares

0946 GMT - Renalytix's London-listed shares soar 60% after the U.K.-based diagnostics group got De Novo marketing authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted its KidneyIntelX.dkd prognostic test for diabetic kidney disease. This is a landmark event for Renalytix and the healthcare system more broadly, Goodbody says in a note. "Everything is now in place for Renalytix to deliver and we are very confident that the value proposition on offer from KidneyIntelX.dkd will be compelling to physicians," analyst Adam Barker writes, adding the current valuation is seen as an attractive entry point given the progress achieved and the very large total addressable market. Shares trade at 120 pence in London, their highest price since mid-March. (elena.vardon@wsj.com)

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UK's Big Four Banks Seen as More Competitive on Term Deposits

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06-30-23 0702ET