Shares in insurance provider Saga dropped by nearly 25 percent on Wednesday, after “challenging trading” led to the issuance of a profit warning. The company were negatively affected by the collapse of Monarch Airlines, with the change of carriers costing £2 million. Shares fell after the Saga said that it expects underlying pretax profits to remain on track for the current financial year, growing by 1-2 percent, but then experience a 5 percent drop in profits in 2018. Lance Batchelor, the chief executive, said: “Against a backdrop of some challenging trading conditions in our final quarter, we continue to develop the business for the long term.” This comes just two days after Saga has confirmed that it has made “around 100” employees redundant, saying that the saved money would be put towards growing the company. “The changes we have made this week will allow us to invest further in future growth,” Batchelor said. Shares in Saga (LON:SAGA) are currently trading down 23.83 percent at 138.10 (1319GMT).

The UK car industry suffered yet another blow in November, as sales of new vehicles fell for the eighth month in a row. Economic uncertainty continued to affect the industry’s performance in the run-up to Christmas, with a sharp fall in demand for diesel cars and a 33 percent drop in business registration. Sales slumped by 11.2 percent during the month to 163,541 vehicles, putting the industry in danger of recording its first drop in annual sales since 2011 Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders, blamed a higher tax on diesel cars as a major reason for the drop: “An eighth month of decline in the new car market is a major concern, with falling business and consumer confidence exacerbated by ongoing anti-diesel messages from government. “Penalising the latest, cleanest diesels is counterproductive and will have detrimental environmental and economic consequences.”

Shares in transport operator Stagecoach (LON:SGC) rose over 5 percent on Wednesday morning, after the extension of its East Midlands train franchise and further negotiations with the Department for Transport. Stagecoach released their six months results for the period to the end of October, with earnings per share in line with the group’s expectation at 13.6 percent. Profit also increased over the period to £96.7 million, up from £89.5 million over the same period last year. Investors were boosted by Chief Executive Martin Griffiths’ comments over the future of the company: “We have made positive progress across our businesses. In UK rail, we are working with the Department for Transport towards new contracts at Virgin Trains East Coast and Virgin Trains West Coast. “Our East Midlands Trains franchise has been extended through to March 2019, with the prospect of us agreeing a further direct award franchise from March 2019, and we are part of shortlisted bids for new South Eastern and West Coast Partnership franchises.” Stagecoach is an international public transport group, with operations in the UK, the United States and Canada. Stagecoach is one of the UK’s biggest bus and coach operators with over 8,000 buses and coaches on a network stretching from south-west England to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, as well as a major UK rail operator, running the East Midlands Trains network. Shares in Stagecoach (LON:SGC) are currently trading up 5.50 percent at 186.10 (1104GMT).

London’s leading index fell on Friday, adding to the losses recorded for November. The FTSE 100 fell as low as 7288 in early trade, the lowest level since September. The drop comes as sterling strengthens through 1.3500 against the dollar. Many analysts have attributed the strength in the FTSE 100 to a weaker pound and there is evidence this correlation is persisting as the pound strengthens. Babcock downgrade The biggest drag on the index was Babcock, down 2.2% after a downgrade by Morgan Stanley. The bank downgrade Babcock to ‘equal-weight’ from ‘over-weight’. The downgrade comes days after Babcock slashed hundreds of jobs in dockyards in Scotland. RBS closes branches Another faller was RBS who announced they were to close one in four branches. The bank, who is still part-owned by the UK government, said the closures were the result of a 40% drop in the number of customers using branches. RBS was down 1.3% at 272.5p by midday on Friday. Just Eat strength The recently announced new constituent of the FTSE 100, Just Eat, rose on Friday having fell for two straight sessions. The takeaway app will join the FTSE 100 shortly along with DS Smith and Halma. They will replace Merlin Entertainments, Conva Tec and Babcock International.

Shares in the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, Grainger PLC, are flat after releasing full years results. Revenue jumped to £264.7m from £219.9m the year previously as the result of £651m of investment in new properties. Compounding an increase in revenue, Grainger’s cost ratio fell 2% helped by cost discipline and supply chain efficiency. The group continued their progressive dividend strategy with a 8% increase in the total dividend to 4.86p. The company said they were positive on the outlook for UK residential property despite ongoing Brexit negotiations and said they planned to push forward with further investments in the sector. Helen Gordon, Chief Executive of Grainger, commented on the results: “We have transformed Grainger over the last two years, refocused our strategy and made the business more efficient. We have continued to deliver strong financial returns. We have increased our rental income, secured a significant number of new PRS investments, simplified and focused the business and repositioned it for further growth. “Over the financial year, we delivered a 40% increase in adjusted earnings to £74.4m. I am also pleased to report a 5.6% increase in EPRA NNNAV to 303p per share and a total return of 7.3% for shareholders. “The growth opportunity in the UK PRS market is significant and we are well placed with our unique in-house capability to originate, invest and operate. We have seen excellent momentum in acquisitions and we have now secured £651m of PRS opportunities since setting out our strategy. “The future for Grainger is exciting. We are a fast-growing business, with great long-term value, and we are delivering a portfolio of good quality homes for rent which our customers, employees and shareholders can be proud of.”

Greene King posted results for the 24 weeks to 15th November this morning which highlighted a ‘challenging’ period of trading.

Total group sales were down 1.2% for the period. The pub group has recently pointed to poor weather throughout the summer as reason for the slow trading.

Significant cost cutting helped offset the weaker sales and the company said it was on track to achieve £40m-50m of savings for the year.

Cash flow was strong and the company maintained their dividend at 8.8p for the period.

The group also gave an update on strategic progress and said Fayre & Square was to be ‘debranded’ by the end of year as part of their push to reduce their presence in value food and concentrate on more premium offerings.

Rooney Anand, chief executive officer, commented on the results:

“The first half was challenging for our managed pubs, but our actions to strengthen performance have produced an improvement since the period end. We have committed additional investment to enhance the customer experience, including being more competitive on price, having more team members available at key times and strengthening local marketing activity. Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands again outperformed the market, generating cash for the group and raising the profile of Greene King.

“We will continue to benefit from our ability to generate significant cost savings and to improve investment returns to over 25% from rebranded pubs. Greene King is a strong, competitive business with industry-leading brands, a strong and flexible balance sheet, a sustainable dividend and an excellent track record of outperforming in challenging conditions. We are adapting our strategy to ensure we continue to sustain our long-term competitiveness, strong cash generation and attractive returns to shareholders.”

Soft drink maker Britvic (LON:BVIC) saw share jump over 6 percent on Wednesday, after reporting an 8 percent revenue boost. The company, which produces drinks including Robinsons squash and Pepsi Co in the UK and Ireland, reported a revenue rise of 8 percent, to £1.54 billion and a 5.1 percent increase in adjusted EBITA to £195.5 million. Profits fell over the period however, down almost 9 percent to £139 million. Profit after tax decreased 2.5 percent to £111.6 million, feeling the hit of £24.7 million worth of planned costs related to the business capability programme. Britvic’s revenue from innovation now stands at 5.4 percent, up from 4 percent on last year. Adjusted earnings per share increased by 7.3 percent to 52.9p, resulting in a full year dividend increase of 8.2 percent. Simon Litherland, Chief Executive Officer of Britvic, commented: “Britvic has again demonstrated the resilience of our business, delivering another strong set of results. We have grown both organic revenue and margins whilst continuing to progress our strategic priorities. I am particularly encouraged that we have increased the proportion of revenue generated from innovation and accelerated the returns from the business capability programme. While April 2018 brings uncertainty with the introduction of the Soft Drinks Industry Levy in GB and Ireland, we are well placed to navigate it thanks to the strength and breadth of our brand portfolio and our exciting marketing and innovation plans. This, combined with our continued focus on revenue and cost management, means we remain confident of making further progress next year.” The company also seems to be making good progress with its efficiency programme, with sales growth remaining upbeat and further margin expansion may be possible. Over the last year the Britvic’s share price has risen 34 percent – a better performance than other global consumer stocks such as Reckitt Banckiser Group Plc, Burberry Group Plc and ASOS Plc. Shares in Britvic are currently trading up 6.46 percent at 807.50 (1524GMT).

Shares in housebuilder Telford Homes (LON:TEF) shot up nearly 4 percent at market open on Wednesday, after a demand boost in London meant it was “business as usual” despite an uncertain climate. The group said it remained well positioned to meet market expectations for the full year, having already secured over 95 per cent of gross profit. Its success continued to be underpinned by a structural shortage of homes to buy and rent in non-prime areas of London, which are central to its longer term growth plans. The company recorded total forward sales of over £580 million, with over £1.4 billion in its development pipeline. Pre-tax profit fell slightly to £8.7 million in the six months to 30 September, due to completion timings, but the group increased its interim dividend by 11.1 per cent to 8 pence. Jon Di-Stefano, Chief Executive of Telford Homes, commented: “Although there is short term uncertainty, we still just need to build more homes in London. The mayor has raised the level of homes needed [to 66,000 a year] and we’re still not delivering anything like those numbers.” However, he continued: “We have a development pipeline of nearly 4,200 homes, worth GBP1.4 billion, set to be delivered into an undersupplied London market over the next few years. We are confident that we can deliver on our aspirations and continue to grow Telford Homes in order to secure long term value for our shareholders.” Shares in Telford Homes soared on the figures, currently trading up 4.25 percent at 417.00 (1327GMT).

Shares in Cineworld (LON:CINE) plunged over 16 percent on Wednesday morning, after confirming it was in talks to buy US cinema chain Regal in a deal worth £2.7 billion. The agreement to buy the chain, which is currently at an advanced stage, spooked investors on Wednesday morning. The takeover would require a rights issue, with Regal being worth almost 50 percent more than Cineworld’s market capitalisation. The deal has already gained approval from the Cineworld’s largest shareholder, but Cineworld shares are still heading for their largest one-day price drop in a decade as other investors remain unconvinced. Its share price tumble weighed on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, with shares currently down 16.81 percent to 577.75 (1149GMT).