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Three Quick Facts: Carpetright, Lloyds Bank and AstraZeneca

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Carpetright

It’s the usual slim pickings for a Friday in terms of corporate news, but retailer Carpetright has announced its new share issue as it attempts to recapitalise the business. They’re looking to raise £60 million and for every 27 shares investors currently hold they have the option to buy 88 new shares. The costs associated with this refinancing are eye-watering – a £15 million loan arranged earlier this month came with a fee of over £2 million and a 20% interest rate. The new share placing is costing £5.1 million to run, too. There’s a lot of overhead here – for the sake of the remaining staff, suppliers and investors, we can only hope it pays off.

Lloyds Bank

A statement from Lloyds Bank this morning announcing that it has sold its book of Irish mortgages to Barclays. The move is in line with the bank’s ambition of becoming a low risk UK focused bank and this portfolio of loans has been loss making in recent years. In light of the cash this frees up – and the fact losses were being accrued, shareholders may well be left cheering this news.

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca has issued a quarterly update this morning and whilst the company is sounding upbeat, the numbers are far from flattering. Earnings per share slumped to 48 cents against expectations of 60 cents, with higher costs and a lack of divestment taking a toll on the business. The company line is that sales growth will return for the full year, but investors might not look too kindly on today’s numbers.

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