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- ✍🏻 Deutsche Bank's UK Push
✍🏻 Deutsche Bank's UK Push
The German powerhouse acquired leading UK mid-market adviser Numis, Natwest shares dived after deposit outflows spooked investors, Moneybox are cooling on crypto and JP Morgan scooped up First Republic following the bank’s collapse.
Good morning. In today’s update - Deutsche Bank acquired leading UK mid-market adviser Numis, Natwest shares dived after deposit outflows spooked investors, Moneybox are cooling on crypto and JP Morgan scooped up First Republic following the bank’s collapse.
Markets
UK stocks recovered early losses on Friday to finish ahead for the last day of April, buoyed by positive updates from Smurfit Kappa, Pearson and Prudential, along with deal-related tailwinds from Deutsche Bank’s acquisition of Numis. Overall, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 gained 0.5% and 0.9% respectively.
Top Stories
🏛️ Deutsche Bank bolsters UK presence
Following the merger of Cenkos and FinnCap last month, the City of London saw further consolidation as Deutsche Bank announced the acquisition of UK adviser Numis. The German powerhouse paid £410m for Numis, a healthy 72% premium on the latest share price. Deutsche plans to merge the adviser with its existing UK & Ireland team of 35 people, unlocking a “much deeper engagement” with Numis’ corporate client base, which includes a mix of FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and smaller companies. On the downside for Numis bankers, Deutsche signalled that along with natural staff attrition, there may be “headcount reductions”. (Official)
💸 Natwest deposit outflows
Natwest shares slumped on Friday despite Q1 earnings that beat market expectations - both revenue and operating profit exceeded forecasts, coming in at £3.9bn and £1.8bn respectively, boosted by higher interest rates. However, the UK bank also reported a £20bn drop in deposits and kept its outlook flat for the full year, upsetting investors. Net interest margin (the difference between interest paid and interest earned) also disappointed - Natwest said this reflected “higher competition” in the mortgage lending market. The UK bank was the biggest faller on the FTSE 100 after the update, dropping 3.8%. (Official)
🥶 Moneybox cools on crypto
The digital investment platform shelved plans to open access to crypto products for customers after recent market volatility in the space. Moneybox had originally planned to include crypto in its financial planning service unveiled as part of its Series D funding round last year, which would allocate a small percentage of a customer’s portfolio to digital currencies. However - according to CEO Ben Stanway - the recent macroeconomic downturn has changed the way people are investing their savings, and as a result the crypto push has been “deprioritised”.
What Else Happened?
Economics / Politics / General
Find out which individuals sit at the top of the UK’s latest Tech Rich List.
UK pubs are set to receive £40m in funding as part of Heineken’s investment plan to upgrade its estate; 600 jobs are to be created.
Deals
Softbank’s Arm Holdings officially filed for a listing in the US, confirming the blow to London’s chance of securing a role in the blockbuster IPO.
Clothing retailer Superdry is reportedly set to embark on a £15m share sale to shore up its balance sheet after choppy trading.
Latest VC deals - Imperial College London spinout Polymateria - a biodegradable plastics startup - raised a £20m Series B round; London-based e-bike startup HumanForest rode off with £12m in Series A funding; Centuro Global raised £3.3m from Mercia to help companies with the regulatory headaches of setting up abroad.
Company News / Trading Updates
Smurfit Kappa shares rose 3.4% after the FTSE 100 packaging giant said it expected demand to improve during the year following the post-Covid slump. (Official)
Close call for Pearson CEO - almost half of the FTSE 100 education company’s shareholders voted against his new bumper pay deal; Shareholder advisory groups had advised investors to vote against the proposal.
Asia-focussed insurer Prudential saw shares jump 4.2% after the lifting of pandemic restrictions in China helped boost sales. (Official)
🌎 Global Snapshot
JP Morgan acquired First Republic’s $93.5bn deposits (and most of its assets) after regulators took control of the troubled California-based lender - the third bank failure since March.
Lazard announced a 10% cut to its workforce this year after a lull in dealmaking caused a surprise loss in Q1.
Japan’s Astellas Pharma has agreed to buy US-based drugmaker Iveric Bio for $5.9bn - the second large cross-border deal by a Japanese company in the last week, following Kirin’s purchase of Blackmores.
Bankers are hoping a $5bn financing package they’ve put together for the acquisition of sandwich chain Subway will get private equity bidders over the line.
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