FTSE 100 movers: Entain under the cosh; Bunzl boosted by upgrade

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was down 0.4% at 8,270.67 in afternoon trade on Monday. Entain was under the cosh after Australia's financial crime regulator began civil penalty proceedings against the company related to alleged contraventions of an anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing act.

Entain said that, judging by the fines handed out for similar cases in the past, the investigation "may result in a penalty being levied which could be potentially material".

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "A company would never want the words 'money laundering' anywhere near it and that's why news from gambling outfit Entain is potentially damaging.

"The Ladbrokes owner is being taken to court by the Australian regulator, significantly the first time it has launched civil proceedings against an online betting company, over serious non-compliance with the country's money laundering and anti-terrorism financing laws.

"This doesn't look to be a one-off incident, with Entain on the block for not conducting appropriate checks on 17 high-risk customers and allegedly helping them obscure their identities. The company's recent history is chequered - it had to pay out a large sum last year for failing to prevent bribery at a former Turkish subsidiary and paid out fines over anti-money laundering failures in the UK in 2022.

"An Australian crackdown has seen other operators pay out material sums in fines and Entain faces a nervous wait to find what, if any, damage will be done to the balance sheet and its reputation by any eventual judgement.

"This issue could hang over the business for some time to come as proceedings at Australia's federal court could take a good while to reach a conclusion. This could weigh on recently appointed CEO Gavin Isaacs' attempts to turn around the business."

Persimmon also fell after boss Dean Finch told The Times that budget tax rises and a new cladding levy will cost the housebuilder up to £40m a year and add "billions" of expenses across the industry.

Finch said there was a "disconnect" between the government imposing ever-increasing costs on the sector and its calls for developers to build 300,000 new homes a year.

On the upside, Bunzl was boosted by an upgrade to 'outperform' from 'sector perform' at RBC Capital Markets, which lifted the price target to 4,000p from 3,350p.

It pointed to a dependable outlook and undemanding valuation.

FTSE 100 - Risers

3i Group (III) 3,713.00p 1.84% Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 582.60p 1.75% International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 297.30p 1.40% Smith (DS) (SMDS) 554.50p 1.37% Bunzl (BNZL) 3,568.00p 1.36% London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) 11,530.00p 1.23% Halma (HLMA) 2,761.00p 1.02% Experian (EXPN) 3,633.00p 0.94% Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) 2,168.00p 0.93% Rightmove (RMV) 683.60p 0.86%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Entain (ENT) 761.60p -6.55% Centrica (CNA) 127.00p -3.16% Convatec Group (CTEC) 227.80p -2.98% Croda International (CRDA) 3,357.00p -2.41% Persimmon (PSN) 1,237.50p -2.29% SSE (SSE) 1,630.50p -2.28% BP (BP.) 387.95p -2.02% Unite Group (UTG) 812.50p -1.81% Legal & General Group (LGEN) 228.80p -1.46% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 363.90p -1.46%