H C Slingsby PLC a tad lower after listing expected post-pandemic issues

H C Slingsby PLC () shed 4% to 225p after expressing caution on this year’s outlook as the market remains competitive.

Whilst the manufacturer’s sales grew in 2020 due to demand for Coronavirus-related products, it noted that this will not necessarily continue to be the case, with many orders not repeating.

It has also incurred in significant cost increases for steel, plastic and timber products as well as for shipping, alongside delays in receiving goods, which are expected to remain for the rest of the year and hit margins.

2.10pm: Barclays moves higher after Sherborne Investors dump shareholding

() added 2% to 180.9p in the afternoon after activist investor Sherborne Investors sold its 6.01% holding in the British bank.

The investment vehicle of corporate trouble-maker Edward Bramson took a stake in Barclays in 2018 with a view to persuading management to rein in its investment banking ambitions.

The official story from Sherborne is that it has found better places to invest its money and given that it has dropped a packet on its Barclays investment, that may well be true, although with the shares almost double what they were eight months ago the investment company may be having one last little dig at Barclays, suggesting the price may have become a little “toppy”.

12.20pm: Meggitt higher after reports of potential takeover offer by  

() jumped 8% to 497.9p after the Dealreporter website reported that US group Inc is mulling over a deal.

The jet parts manufacturer was worth £4.9bn based on Thursday’s closing share price, while Nasdaq-listed was valued at US$8bn (£5.7bn).

Meggitt’s share price is trading 30% below pre-pandemic levels after travel restrictions hit the aerospace industry hard.

11am:  climbs after Blackstone tables £1.2bn takeover offer

PLC () climbed 19% to 531p after receiving a takeover approach from US investment giant Blackstone that values the FTSE 250 group at about £1.2bn.

The mooted offer of 542p per share is around a 21% premium to the closing price last night and directors of St Modwen said that if Blackstone makes a formal approach at that level they would likely recommend it.

St Modwen added that the offer is the latest in a series of unsolicited approaches from the US fund manager and is a premium of 24% to its latest published net asset value of 438p.

10am: Syncona dips after Gyroscope Therapeutics postpones IPO

() dipped 6% to 222.5p in the mid-morning after its portfolio company Gyroscope Therapeutics postponed plans for its IPO.

“In light of market conditions, we have decided to postpone our planned initial public offering,” said Khurem Farooq, chief executive.

“Based on the positive feedback we have received from institutional investors on the strength of our science and investigational gene therapies, we believe it’s in the best interest of our existing shareholders and employees to execute our IPO in more favourable market conditions. In the meantime, we are continuing to advance our clinical program for our investigational gene therapy, GT005, as well as our earlier stage pipeline.”

Elsewhere, () tumbled 21% to 0.435p after admitting that delays to the production ramp-up at its Canadian project have hit its cash position in the short term.  

To deal with these issues, the miner is investigating financing options.

The development plan for 2021 will significantly improve the developed state of the mine, the company added, with production increasing in the second half.

8.40am: Tekcapital rises after investee Belluscura announces plans to float on AIM

() was an early riser on Friday, advancing by a tenth to 14.25p after noting that its investee Belluscura plans to float on AIM.

Belluscura, a medical device developer focused on lightweight and portable oxygen enrichment technology, said it’s looking to raise £15mln on its IPO, giving the whole company a valuation of £50-55mln.

Tekcapital owns 17.8% of…