Asos sales weaker than expected in August, Landsec COO to stand down

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 22.2 points higher on Friday after closing 0.61% higher in the previous session at 31,774.52.

Stocks to watch

Online fashion retailer Asos said on Friday that August sales had been weaker than expected due to accelerating inflationary pressures and a slow start to the Autumn/Winter shopping period.

Asos also stated that adjusted pre-tax profits, total sales growth and net debt for the 12 months ended 31 August anticipated to be in line with market expectations, with profits seen at the bottom end of company guidance, constant currency sales growth pegged at around 2% and net debt expected to come to approximately £150.0m.

Landsec said on Friday that chief operating officer Colette O'Shea will be stepping down as the business moves into "the next phase" of its growth strategy.

The company noted that O'Shea had supported chief executive Mark Allan to develop and implement his growth strategy since 2020 but as said strategy enters its next phase, there will be an increased emphasis on operational autonomy within business units, meaning the role of COO was no longer critical to its operations.

Newspaper round-up

Southern Water is threatening to use debt collection agencies against customers involved in a payment boycott in protest against continuing raw sewage discharges. The water company, which was given the lowest one star rating for performance by the Environment Agency, has informed boycotters that it will be using bailiffs if they continue to hold back bill payments. – Guardian

Online car retailer Cazoo has announced it will abandon its business in Europe and cut 750 jobs in the latest sign of retreat by a business that had hoped to transform its sector. The company will make redundant all of its employees in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain as it closes the operations, leaving it operating in only the UK as it tries to preserve cash. – Guardian

Bosses at EY have agreed to push ahead with a split of its audit and consulting arms in the biggest shake-up of a Big Four accounting giant in decades. The firm said on Thursday that it will ballot its partners on a plan to separate the 312,000-strong business into "two distinct, multidisciplinary organisations" following a strategic review. – Telegraph

Hospitality bosses are warning that one in five businesses in the sector will not survive the current crisis and that hundreds of thousands of people will be left without jobs unless government support is received. Nearly 300 chief executives have signed an open letter asking the new chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, for "a plan that cuts business costs, stimulates demand and tackles inflation". – The Times

The government's information watchdog has taken legal action against the Department for International Trade for "persistent failures" to uphold transparency law. The Information Commissioner's Office has taken the rare step of issuing a formal enforcement notice to the department for failing to properly respond to transparency requests. If the department fails to meet this notice, it will be in contempt of court. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks finished above the waterline on Thursday, having dipped earlier following comments from Fed chairman Jerome Powell.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.61% at 31,774.52, while the S&P 500 gained 0.66% to 4,006.18 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 0.6% stronger at 11,862.13.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com