CRH, Tullow help Britain's FTSE set new record high

Britain's top share index notched up a new peak on Friday, with Irish cement firm CRH leading the market higher on expectations of European assets purchases from Lafarge and Holcim, and Tullow Oil gaining after it raised extra cash.

CRH rose 4 per cent, to be the top gainer in the FTSE 100, after Holcim and Lafarge salvaged a planned multi-billion-euro merger to create the world’s biggest cement firm and sell businesses to the Irish group.

CRH has agreed to buy €6.5 billion worth of assets, which would give antitrust clearance for the deal. CRH is looking to diversify and the new assets would transform it into the world’s third biggest building materials supplier.

"Lafarge and Holcim have agreed new merger terms which has helped sentiment. CRH chief executive Albert Manifold sees the price of the assets being purchased as attractive. The market has reacted positively, although the sharp rise in shares looks a bit of an over-reaction," Brown Shipley senior fund manager John Smith said.

Tullow Oil rose 3.7 per cent after Africa-focused oil producer raised an additional $450 million of capital from existing lenders, boosting its financial strength despite weak oil prices.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2 per cent at 6,974.97 points in early trading having climbed to a new record of 6,987.92 points. The index has gained more than 6 per cent this year.

TSB rose 1.8 per cent after the British bank agreed to a £1.7 billion takeover by Spanish lender Banco Sabadell in one of the biggest cross-border banking deals since the financial crisis of 2007-09.

"In all, the news looks good for both UK consumers and businesses, with the new TSB adding competitive vigour to the UK market place," Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers equity analyst Keith Bowman said.

Lloyds, ordered to sell TSB by regulators as a condition of its £20billion bailout during the crisis, said it had agreed to sell a 9.99 pe rcent stake to Sabadell and had also undertaken to sell its remaining 40.01 per cent.

Reuters