Unilever, musicMagpie, Sainsbury’s, Moneysupermarket.com, Frasers: Morning Roundup

European equities are trading slightly higher on Monday, with the FTSE 100 up 0.05%. The pound plummeted in early trading, hitting a low of 1.0356.

Monday’s morning roundup brings the latest news from Unilever, Sainsbury’s, and Frasers.

Unilever

Unilever announced on Monday that CEO Alan Jope has informed the board of his intention to retire from the company at the end of 2023.
The board will not proceed with a formal search for a successor and will consider internal and external candidates.
Unilever CEO Alan Jope said: “As I approach my fifth year as CEO, and after more than 35 years in Unilever, I believe now is the right time for the Board to begin the formal search for my successor.

musicMagpie announced its trading update and outlook on Monday.
The company noted despite the challenging microenvironment, it expected an improved trading performance for the second half of the year.
The group expects second-half profitability to show substantial improvements but its Consumer Technology department has been weaker than expected.
Cautious consumer behavior in August and September has seen slower outright sales on the musicMagpie store.
musicMagpie shares tumbled 50% this morning.

Sainsbury’s announced given the current stock market volatility, LXi REIT is not proceeding with the purchase of 18 supermarket stores.
The funds received from this transaction would have been used to part-fund the purchase of 21 freehold Sainbury’s supermarkets from the Highbury and Dragon portfolios.
Sainsbury’s announced it will have no bearing on its financial guidance.

Moneysupermarket.com announced directorate changes on Monday morning.
The company announced the appointment of Niall McBride to the Board as Chief Financial Officer.
Niall is currently Chief Financial Officer at Ocado, having joined in 2020.
Niall’s start date will be confirmed in due course but will be no later than 3 April 2023.

Frasers Group reported a mandatory cash-off for MySale Group.
Frasers has now received an “irrevocable commitment” from Jackson Family Capital to sell 103,745,000 shares to the retail group.
The agreement means Frasers’ interest in the company now stands at 48.5%, enough to enable a mandatory offer for the Australian firm.