More than £1.1 billion was lost from the value of Centrica yesterday as the owner of British Gas scrambled to shore up its balance sheet with an unexpected share placing. Shares fell by 10 per cent after the £700 million placing of 350 million shares at £2 each, which the FTSE 100 company said was necessary to pay for two “attractive acquisitions” and cut its £4.4 billion debt pile. Centrica is battling to avoid a ratings downgrade in the face of a steep drop in wholesale energy prices and fierce competition in the retail gas and electricity market. British Gas lost almost 250,000 customers in the first three months of the year.
Times 6th May 2016 read more »