Unite Group appoints new chairman from Future, Avon Rubber acquisition progresses

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The FTSE 100 is expected to open down 53 points on Monday, having closed up 1.29% on Friday, at 5,860.28.

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Student accommodation provider Unite Group said it had appointed Future chairman Richard Huntingford in the same role. Huntingford will replace Phil White, who retires on March 31 next year, but will join the Unite board as a non-executive director and chairman designate on 1 December.

Avon Rubber said its planned acquisition of Team Wendy had progressed, after the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust regulations in the US had passed on 23 October. Following that, it said it expected the acquisition to complete on 2 November.

Newspaper round-up

The global aerospace industry has endured its worst quarter ever with record low orders for new aircraft and 12,000 UK jobs already lost or at risk because of the collapse in travel caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Aircraft manufacturers received only 13 orders in July and August, according to the aerospace and defence lobby group ADS. No orders were placed in September. That compares with 152 in the same period in 2019. - Guardian

An estimated 6m small businesses in the UK supporting 16.6m jobs are in a financially precarious position as a result of the pandemic, a London business school has warned. Nearly two-thirds of entrepreneurs felt their business might not survive the pressures of Covid-19, while more than half predicted they would run out of money within the next 12 months, according to the new study from King’s Business School. - Guardian

Ministers struck a deal worth up to £119m with one of the world's biggest marketing companies for a Covid campaign three weeks before the country went into a national lockdown, official filings show. The Cabinet Office signed the contract with London-based OMD Group, a subsidiary of US ad titan Omnicom, on March 2 - the same day Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended his first pandemic-related Cobra meeting - as the Government began to gear up its response to the crisis. - Telegraph

Britain is highly unlikely to secure a US trade deal unless it first strikes an agreement with the European Union, a former top American official has warned. A prized tie-up between London and Washington will be off the table if talks with Brussels break down, according to former assistant US trade representative Barbara Weisel. - Telegraph

Doubts about the future of Debenhams and its 12,000 workers are growing after suitors were given until the middle of this week to make a £300 million rescue bid for the department stores chain. Prospective buyers, which include Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, have been told to make a binding commitment by the close of business on Wednesday, or walk away. - The Times

US close

Stocks on Wall Street finished in a mixed state on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending the session down 0.1% at 28,335.57.

At the same time, the S&P 500 rose 0.34% to 3,465.39, and the Nasdaq Composite was ahead 0.37% at 11,548.28.