Archived article
Please note that tax, investment, pension and ISA rules can change and the information and any views contained in this article may now be inaccurate.
UK stocks fell in early trading on Wednesday following the release of disappointing local economic data, and as investors remained wary of the Omicron variant's rapid global spread.
At 0822, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was down 16.39 points, or 0.2%, at 7,281.02.
UK gross domestic product grew by 1.1% in the third quarter, accord to a 'final' reading from the Office of National Statistics. The reading marked a downward revision from an initial estimate of 1.3% growth.
In corporate news, healthcare investor Syncona jumped 9% to 218p on announcing that portfolio company Gyroscope Therapeutics would be sold to Novartis for up to $1.5 billion.
The deal included an upfront payment of $800 million and up to $700 million contingent on the achievement of milestones related to clinical development, regulatory approvals and reimbursement.
Chemicals company Croda fell 0.5% to £99.2892 after it agreed to sell the majority of its performance technologies and industrial chemicals business to Cargill for €915 million (£778m), including debt.
Croda said the deal completed a transition into a pure-play consumer and life sciences company. The remaining industrial assets would provide support to those businesses.
Ready meals provider Parsley Box dropped 9.9% to 38.75p, as it forecast a slight rise in full-year revenue that was 'marginally' above its most recent forecast, following a drop off in the second half.
Parsley Box said stock availability was significantly constrained, resulting in a reduction of about 20% in order numbers and therefore revenue in the second half compared to the first.
Real-estate company LondonMetric Property was broadly flat at 274.15p following news it had acquired Savills IM UK Income and Growth Fund in a deal valued at £122.2 million.
The related property portfolio had a weighted average unexpired lease term of 11 years and occupiers including Decora, Fujitsu, Grafton, HSBC, Iveco, MKM and Volkswagen.
Hospital owner Spire Healthcare firmed 0.4% to 246p after it agreed to sell a medium-sized hospital in Cheshire to NWI Jersey for £89 million.
Spire, which would lease back the asset, said the deal would generate a book profit of around £23 million on gross assets of £66 million.
Challenger lender Metro Bank added 0.8% to 88.65p despite being fined £5.4 million by Britain's prudential regulator for failings in its regulatory reporting.
The Prudential Regulation Authority said the fine related to reporting of Metro Bank's capital position and for failings in its regulatory reporting governance, controls and investment.