MARKET REPORT: Mike Ashley on way back to stock market’s top flight

Tracksuit tycoon Mike Ashley – the former owner of Newcastle United – is on his way back to the stock market’s top flight. 

The 58-year-old billionaire’s retail empire Frasers Group, which owns chains including Sports Direct and House of Fraser, will be promoted to the FTSE100 on Tuesday. 

Shares in the company, which were up 1 per cent, or 8p, at 812p yesterday, have risen by a third in the past three months and have more than quadrupled since their Covid lows. This has given Frasers, whose other brands include Evans Cycles, Flannels, Jack Wills and Agent Provocateur, a value of £3.8billion. That is enough for it to join the blue chips next week when defence giant Meggitt is delisted following its takeover by US rival Parker-Hannifin. 

Ashley owns 69 per cent of Frasers – a stake worth over £2.6billion – and his son-in-law Michael Murray took over as chief executive this year. 

Ashley was last in the FTSE100 six years ago before his company, then known as Sports Direct International, was demoted in March 2016. 

Shares in London were on the front foot after a turbulent week that saw the Queen pass away days after Liz Truss became Prime Minister. 

With trading continuing as normal, the FTSE 100 index rose 1.2 per cent, or 89.01 points, to 7351.07 and the FTSE250 gained 1.6 per cent, or 309.74 points, to 19188.03. 

Sterling was also on the march, rising as high as $1.1647 having hit a 37-year low of $1.1406 on Wednesday. 

Mining stocks led the charge in London as copper prices rose on the back of the weaker dollar and lower than expected inflation numbers in China. Anglo American rose 4.7 per cent, or 132p, to 2926.5p, Glencore gained 3.7 per cent, or 17.25p, to 488.4p, Antofagasta added 3.9 per cent, or 44.5p, to 1195.5p and Rio Tinto lifted 2.9 per cent, or 134.5p, at 4860p. 

Cineworld was handed a lifeline after a US court approved access to around £678m of emergency funds to help the world’s second-largest cinema chain continue operating. 

The troubled UK cinema giant, which employs 28,000 people worldwide and operates 751 cinemas in ten countries, filed for bankruptcy in the US in a bid to ‘significantly’ reduce its massive debt pile of £7.5billion. Shares fell 1 per cent, or 0.04p, to 4.1p. 

The London Stock Exchange Group’s takeover of Quantile moved a step closer after it was provisionally cleared by the UK competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) referred the deal for an investigation in May after the exchange operator snapped up Quantile for up to £274m last December. With the investigation nearing completion, the CMA said the acquisition ‘will not lead to a substantial lessening of competition between Quantile and its rivals’. 

The LSE group and Quantile have until the end of September to respond to the CMA before it plans to release a final report by October 31.

LSE shares were flat at 8004p. 

Royal Mail shares ticked up 2.9 per cent, or 7.3p, to 259.1p a day after the delivery group dismissed rumours it was in ‘secret’ takeover talks with a Luxembourg-based private equity firm. 

In a statement on Thursday, Royal Mail said the claim from Dave Ward, the General Secretary of the CWU, was not true. 

FTSE250 firm 4imprint enjoyed a better showing with brokers. 

Analysts at Barclays raised the target price of the marketing group, which makes promotional products such as bags and pens, to 5800p from 4800p.

Shares rose 5.7 per cent, or 200p, to 3735p by the close.