LONDON Market Open Report

London open: Lloyds unveils record cash call

London’s blue chips have fallen back after yesterday's strong gains, with Lloyds Banking getting most of the attention.

Lloyds Banking Group priced its world record Ł13.5bn rights issue at 37p a share, a discount of 59.5% to last night’s closing price.

Britain’s third-largest lender will offer shareholders the chance to buy a total of 36.5bn shares on the basis of 1.34 new shares for every 1 share held. The cash call represents a discount of 38.6% to the theoretical ex-rights price (TERP) based on Monday’s closing price, in line with previous indications.

Water supplier Severn Trent posted a rise in turnover and profits in the six months to September 30 and lifted its dividend ahead of the regulator’s final decision on how much it can charge customers over the next five years.

Tile and flooring specialist Topps Tiles is to shore up its balance sheet with a placing of up to 17.1m new of shares, approximately 10% of its issued ordinary share capital.

Investment company Alliance Trust beefed up its exposure to equities to 90.6% during the quarter ending 31 October, with particular focus on stocks that will benefit from an upturn in economic activity.

Housebuilder Bovis announced that its finance director Neil Cooper will leave the company to take the same job at bookmaker William Hill.

Petrofac, the oil & gas facilities service provider, said it has established a joint venture agreement with Zamil to create and operate a new service centre facility in Saudi Arabia.

One-off charges lowered first half profits at banknote printer and cash handling machines specialist De La Rue, but currency translation benefits and good banknote demand meant a strong underlying performance.

Condom and footcare products supplier SSL posted a sharp rise in profits in the six months to September 30, as strong growth in emerging markets helped drive sales higher. Pre-tax profits totalled Ł51.9m compared with Ł32.5m.

Lloyds List publisher Informa has confirmed reports it is in discussions over the possible acquisition of German publisher Springer. In a statement, Informa said it has been given access to Springer's books and will make a proposal to its shareholders, though it added no agreement on price has been reached yet.

Specialist mortgage lender Paragon is considering increasing its lending book again after bad debts stabilised in the second half and wholesale funding markets picked up.