OnTheMarket has agreed to a £99m all-cash takeover by US-based CoStar Group at 110p per share.

OnTheMarket shares were trading up 52% at 107p at the time of writing on Thursday.

“OnTheMarket is the latest UK stock to receive a takeover offer, making it feel like a near-daily event as private equity and trade players seek to take advantage of cheap valuations on the UK market,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Shareholders are being offered a chunky 56% premium to last night’s closing price by CoStar. It’s a classic move – a US business that is already an expert in the same sector is using the acquisition of a London-listed stock to expand into a new segment of the UK market. In CoStar’s case, the deal will give it a foot in the door for the UK residential property sector.

“OnTheMarket was set up as a rival to Rightmove and Zoopla, and while it didn’t necessarily cause those businesses too much stress, it did make slow but steady progress.”

OnTheMarket also released their half-year results on Thursday, revealing a 1% increase in revenue to £16.8m for the six months to 31st July.

Competitor Rightmove recently announced a 10% jump in revenue to £179.5m for the six-month period to 30th June.

Tekcapital announced further expansion of MicroSalt’s distribution network with the addition of Longs Drugs and 70 stores across Hawaii.

Longs Drugs is owned by $91bn market cap CVS Health.

“We are very excited about the placement of our SaltMe Low Sodium Crisps with the Longs Drug Chain. Excess sodium consumption is one of the leading contributors to hypertension and heart disease.  Placements like this are the best way to provide consumers with great tasting, healthy products with less sodium,” said Rick Guiney, CEO of MicroSalt®.

MicroSalt slashes the amount of sodium in foods and can help improve the health of those suffering from cardiovascular diseases. An estimated 31% of adults worldwide suffer from high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases.

Growth in MicroSalt’s distribution channels comes days after the announcement that MicroSalt’s IPO will be rescheduled with a new date expected in mid-November.

The FTSE 100 was firmly in the red on Wednesday as markets reacted to a higher-than-expected UK CPI reading which raised worries about additional rate hikes by the Bank of England.

A sense of complacency had crept into UK equities, with expectations of additional interest rate hikes this year diminishing. Today’s news will have been a major disappointment for investors hoping for a dovish end to 2023.

This disappointment played out in UK stocks on Wednesday, with the FTSE 100 down at 0.8% at the time of writing. The sell-off was broad and UK-facing sectors were the most heavily hit.

“Higher than expected UK inflation data has put the market in a spin, sending shares in housebuilders, airlines, banks and utilities into a downward trend. Sticky inflation strengthens the argument for further interest rate hikes, which in turn adds to pressures for consumers and businesses,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Higher rates would pile on the pressure for the property market as the cost of borrowing goes up, explaining why the likes of Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Howden Joinery were the top three fallers on the FTSE 100. Banks would normally benefit from higher interest rates but the market seems to be worried that further hikes could increase bad debts.”

Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Developments were both down 3.8% at the time of writing, while Howden Joinery dumped 3.4%. Property website Rightmove lost 1.7% of its value.

Lloyds fell 1.5% and NatWest slipped 1.2%.

The FTSE 100’s defensive sectors had provided support for the index this week but this was absent on Wednesday as AstraZeneca fell 3% adding to the downside pressure.

Whitbread was the standout gainer, adding 3.2%, after releasing a strong set of half-year results. Repeat hotel guests helped profit before tax rise 44% as revenue surged 17%.

On Wednesday, leisure company Whitbread posted a 44% rise in first half-year profit and was the best performer out of the FTSE 100 at the time of writing.

Much of Whitbread’s increased profit was a result of strong consumer spending at Whitbread’s Premier Inn hotels and restaurants.

Whitbread’s overall revenue is up 17% to £1.6bn as its underlying pre-tax profit grew to 44% to £391m.

Furthermore, Whitbread stated a plan for a £300 million share buyback and a proposed interim dividend of 34.1p per share.

Whitbread CEO Dominic Paul said in a comment that post-pandemic steady demand for Premier Inn hotels and restaurants has been driving Primer sales up, stating that forward-booked revenue is ahead of last year.

According to Whitbread, 86% of their hotel customers were repeat visitors.

Overall, Whitbread’s increased investment focus led to the 2024 capex guidance being upped to £500–£550 million.

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said in a comment that “the Premier Inn owner and the UK’s largest hotel chain have plenty of reasons to be cheerful. Strong demand from both business and leisure guests across regions and London drove accommodation sales up by 13%. This, coupled with a focus on cost efficiencies, saw the bottom line come in ahead of management expectations.”

“In the UK, supply is not expected to get back to pre-pandemic levels for at least five years, so there’s space for selective site expansion without crushing margins. And with net cash on the balance sheet, there’s also room to return cash to investors. The much smaller German operation is tantalisingly close to profitability, and the current pipeline should see the footprint in Germany expand by 6,000 rooms.”

“The outlook for consumers is likely to get more challenging. But for now, the mid-teens earnings rating doesn’t look too demanding, and momentum has carried over into the first six weeks of the second half in both the UK and Germany”, he added.

Barratt Developments shares were weaker in early trade on Wednesday following the release of a trading statement that pointed to continued soft trading in the face of rising interest rates and ‘mortgage challenges’.

The Barratt Developments share price was 2.6% lower in early trade.

Key sales metrics deteriorated from 1st July 2023 to 8th October compared to the same period last year as net private reservations per average week fell to 169, down from 188 last year, and net private reservations per active outlet per average week declined to 0.46 from 0.55 in 2023.

Total forward sales stood at 9,221 homes as of 8th October 2023. This represents a sharp decline from 13,314 homes as of 9th October 2022.

“The trading environment remains difficult, with potential homebuyers still facing mortgage challenges. Against this backdrop, we are focused on driving revenue whilst continuing to manage build activity and carefully control our cost base,” said David Thomas, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments.

Barratt Developments said they still expect to complete between 13,250 and 14,250 homes in FY24.

“New home buyers are still exercising considerable caution, given the higher cost and reduced availability of mortgages. However, expectations for the year ahead already reflect this challenging backdrop meaning Barratt has maintained its full year targets,” said Wealth Club’s Charlie Huggins.

“Barratt is doing all it can to weather the current storm in the housing market. The group has taken a knife to costs, has stepped back from land purchases and is offering greater incentives to buyers. The reality however is that there is so much out of its control. Its destiny depends to a considerable extent on housing market conditions.”

MicroSalt has rescheduled its London debut, with the admission date now expected in mid-November. The company had previously expected trade to commence 18th October.

Neither MicroSalt nor founding company Tekcapital have issued any statement on the reasons behind the rescheduling, but for an IPO date to be changed isn’t unusual.

In fact, it is commonplace for Scheduled Ones issued by companies seeking admission to AIM to be updated with a revised expected first day of trading.

The typical timeframe for an AIM company to list after announcing their intention to float is 4-6 weeks. Should MicroSalt have started trade on 18th October, it would have been in the region of just three weeks.

Although MicroSalt and Tekcapital have not provided any comment in relation to the rescheduling, it is plain to see waiting a couple more weeks will have its benefits.

Geopolitical tensions are creating unfavourable market conditions, which are likely to improve over the coming weeks. In addition, waiting until November will mean markets have more certainty on interest rates. The next Bank of England and Federal Reserve meetings are scheduled for the first days of November.

Floating a company is the culmination of months, even years, of preparation and amending the listing date to seek more favourable conditions is fairly routine.