Due to technical issues this moring, we have two – not the usual three – things you need to know as the UK financial markets open, from Tony Cross.
#1. SEGRO offloads Italian immobiliare
SEGRO LON:SGRO has this morning announced the disposal of assets in Italy for €327m. The array of four warehouses have been sold with the intention of freeing up capital for other attractive investment opportunities. The estate was fully leased and generating a passing rent of €19m.
#2. Hargreaves Lansdown hits new highs with strong growth
Retail investment powerhouse Hargreaves Lansdown LON:HL. has its quarterly trading statement out today. The positive momentum continues here with net new business of £1.6bn – down from the £1.7bn posted this time last year – and assets under administration reaching a record £155.3bn. An impressive 24,000 new clients were however added, that’s around double the comparative figure. Share dealing volumes were also notably higher, with 838k transactions taking place, up from 685k in 2023.
#3. Microsoft computers hit by global outage
[from the Armchair team] Details are still emerging, but it it is clear that today a large number of services globally have been impacted by what appears to be an update to the Crowdstrike software on Microsoft NASDAQ:MSFT computers. Here at The Armchair Trader we are unaffected, but expect temporary disruption to broadcasters, travel companies, news services and other companies.