MARKET WATCH: Asos shares soar 11% as Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen raises his stake

Asos shares soared 10.9 per cent to 255p yesterday amid talk Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen could launch a takeover.

He upped his stake from 27 per cent to 28 per cent. Hitting 30 per cent would trigger a takeover offer. 

Dan Coatsworth, an AJ Bell analyst, said: ‘Povlsen might feel Asos is better taken off the market and nursed back to health out of the spotlight.’

Povlsen is Asos’s biggest shareholder – Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has 22 per cent – and any swoop could pit him against the tycoon.

He is also Britain’s biggest landowner, with an estimated fortune of £6.3bn, and owes his wealth to Bestseller, the fashion empire. 

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell 4.67 points to 8701.99 and the FTSE 250 dipped 24.39 points to 20.097.98. 

Takeover talk: Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen upped his stake in Asos from 27% to 28%

Housebuilder Crest Nicholson rose 7 per cent to 162.8p, lifted by signs of improving sales this year.

Insurer Prudential notched up better-than-expected annual earnings, despite slower growth amid woes in the key Chinese market, and rose 2.9 per cent to 796.8p.

Investment firm 3i Group fell 3.3 per cent to 3689p despite ‘a good start to 2025’ at Dutch retailer Action, in which it has a majority stake. 

Wickes said profits and sales have fallen in the past year but rose 6.1 per cent to 182p after a ‘good start’ to 2025.