BUSINESS LIVE: Britons head to the polls

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 67,625 new cars were registered by private consumers in June, down 15.3 per cent from 79,798 during the same month last year.

The overall new car market grew by 1.1 per cent year-on-year, mainly due to a 14.2 per cent increase in purchases for fleets owned or leased by businesses or other organisations.

This means more than one million new cars were registered in the first half of the year for the first time since 2019.

The overall new car market between January and June was up by 6 per cent compared with the same period last year.

The market share of pure battery electric new cars so far this year is 16.6 per cent, up from 16.1 per cent in the first half of 2023.

According to new S&P Global data, Britain’s construction sector remained inside growth territory as the second quarter of the year drew to a close, although the overall expansion softened amid a renewed fall in housing activity.

A slower rise in new orders was also recorded, in some cases linked to election uncertainty, but the pace of job creation picked up, it said.

Peel Hunt shares rose today after the investment bank revealed it was raking in more revenue than anticipated.

In an update ahead of its annual general meeting today, the group said it had seen ‘some improvement in the macroeconomic backdrop’ in recent months.

It said it had seen ‘tentative signs of a pick up in equity capital markets activity.’

The group said: ‘During the period, we have advised clients in relation to a number of ECM transactions, including acting as global co-ordinator on two IPOs executed on the London market, and we are encouraged by an increase in activity in both our Execution Services and institutional trading businesses.

‘Consequently, revenues for Q1 FY25 are ahead of the equivalent prior year period and in line with market expectations.’

Shop floor workers and warehouse staff at Tesco are set to share a £30million windfall from maturing share schemes.

Employees will receive the bumper payout following a ‘strong performance’ from its Save as You Earn colleague schemes.

Tesco said that more than 20,000 staff, working mostly in its stores and distribution centres, would benefit from the strong growth in its share price, up by a fifth over the past year.

The company added that employees who had joined its share savings schemes were able to buy shares at a discounted price of £1.88 or £1.98 each, to either hold or sell.

A worker who had invested the average £68 a month in a five-year share-saving scheme stood to gain about £2,560 from their £4,080 investment.

Employees who had invested the maximum £500 a month stood to make a profit of almost £10,000 from the three-year scheme and almost £20,000 from the five-year scheme, if they opted to sell.

Emma Taylor, Tesco’s chief people officer, said: ‘It’s great news that more than 20,000 will benefit this year from our share schemes.’

The domestic-focused FTSE 250 index is up 15.96 points to 20,545.38.

Purchases of new cars by private buyers declined in June compared with the same month last year, preliminary figures show.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the overall new car market grew slightly year-on-year, due to an increase in purchases for fleets owned or leased by businesses or other organisations.

This means more than half a million new cars were registered in the first half of the year for the first time since 2019.

The overall new car market during the first six months of 2024 was up by around 5 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Aldi has been crowned the cheapest supermarket for a trolley-load of 65 products despite rivals promising to price match, new findings reveal.

In June, the average bill for a trolley of 65 items at Aldi was £118.41, coming in £32.60 less than at Waitrose, which was the most expensive, at £151.01.

Waitrose was found to be nearly 28 per cent more expensive than Aldi for the same products in June.

Britons are heading to the polls in their droves today for the general election. It’s also a public holiday in the US today.

There are updates and business reports from the likes of Marston’s, 3i Infrastucture and Victrix today. The latest construction data is also due to be released at 9.30am.