FTSE LIVE: JD Sports races ahead; Bovis mulls housing merger; Pound holds above $1.23

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FTSE CLOSE: Wages up the most in 11 years at 4%; JD Sports sales race ahead; Bovis and Galliford Try mull merger; pound above $1.23

  • Bovis Homes has rekindled talks over a merger with Galliford Try’s housing arm
  • JD Sports revealed a 10% jump in like-for-like store sales in the UK and Ireland 

By Emily Hardy For This Is Money

Published: | Updated:

The FTSE 100 closed up 32.14 points at 7267.95 and the pound was at $1.24 against the dollar.

Builder Bovis Homes has rekindled talks over a merger with rival Galliford Try’s housing arm in a deal valuing the division at £1.08billion.

Bovis stressed there remains ‘significant work to be completed’ before a deal can be agreed. Galliford rejected a £905million approach in May. 

Meanwhile, JD Sports is racing ahead on the high street. The sports clothing chain notched up a 10 per cent rise in UK and Ireland store sales in the past six months, ‘against a backdrop of widely-reported retail challenges in the UK’. 

The pound is holding steady above $1.23  after Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost his second bid for a snap general election last night. The vote was followed by the prorogation of Parliament until mid October.  

 

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