FTSE 100 movers: Landsec rallies on shopping centre acquisition; Weir, BAT go ex-div

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 1.4% at 10,463.09 in afternoon on Thursday. Software-related stocks rallied, with Sage Group, Pearson, Informa, Auto Trader and Relx all higher.

LSEG was in the black even as Goldman Sachs cut its price target on the 'buy' rated shares to 13,140p from 13,630p.

Landsec rallied as it agreed to buy the Metrocentre shopping centre near Newcastle for £516m.

Based on in-place net rental income of £41m, the net cash consideration implies an in-place net rental income yield of 7.9%. At this price, Metrocentre offers an attractive combination of a high day-one income return, strong future rental growth prospects and an expected low double-digit unlevered IRR, Landsec said.

The acquisition will be funded through an equity issue and existing debt facilities.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said Landsec had made "an important acquisition".

"Metrocentre looks like an ideal fit for Land Securities' portfolio that includes stakes in retail sites across the UK such as Bluewater in Kent and Liverpool's ONE centre. Land Securities also has a range of office workspaces.

"Mike Ashley won't be pleased as Frasers Group was rumoured to be in the running to buy Metrocentre. Frasers' Sports Direct and Flannels brands are prominently displayed on the front of the shopping centre, and the group is a key tenant."

Weir and British American Tobacco both lost ground as they traded without entitlement to the dividend.

Banks were also under the cosh, with NatWest, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Lloyds among the worst performers on the index.

FTSE 100 - Risers

WPP (WPP) 390.90p 4.04% The Sage Group (SGE) 993.00p 2.02% Pearson (PSON) 1,238.00p 1.85% Informa (INF) 883.20p 1.75% Autotrader Group (AUTO) 461.10p 1.54% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 8,278.00p 1.50% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,477.80p 1.40% Computacenter (CCC) 5,480.00p 1.39% Land Securities Group (LAND) 630.50p 1.20% Relx plc (REL) 2,522.00p 1.12%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Games Workshop Group (GAW) 17,090.00p -4.85% Lion Finance Group (BGEO) 13,870.00p -3.41% Weir (WEIR) 2,620.00p -2.96% NATWEST GROUP (NWG) 668.40p -2.82% HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 1,457.00p -2.59% Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,266.00p -2.56% Standard Chartered (STAN) 2,248.00p -2.30% British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,032.00p -2.23% Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 104.70p -2.06% M&G (MNG) 315.10p -1.78%