By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. stocks fell Friday, with shares of
Shire PLC pushed lower after the pharmaceutical maker was
criticized over tax avoidance, but the benchmark FTSE 100 remained
on track for a weekly gain.
The FTSE 100 lost 0.4% to 6,841.97, as consumer and industrial
firms were under pressure. Shire shares were at the bottom of the
index as they fell 1.7%. An influential committee of British
lawmakers said accountancy firm PwC helped Shire engage in tax
avoidance, via 10 billion pounds of intracompany loans the pharma
made to its business in Luxembourg.
"Neither PwC nor Shire could demonstrate that the company's
presence in Luxembourg was designed to do anything other than avoid
tax," the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee said in a
statement. "We note that Shire paid tax of only 0.0156% on its
profits to the Luxembourg tax authority."
Other decliners included home builder Barratt Developments PLC
and electronics retailer Dixons Carphone PLC , down 2.3% and 1.7%,
respectively.
Among the advancers were Aberdeen Asset Management PLC and Royal
Bank of Scotland PLC , gaining 1.8% and 0.9%, respectively.
The index is on track to rise 1.4% for the week, which would
mark a second consecutive week of gains.
On the FTSE 250, shares of Poundland Group PLC surged 7.6%,
topping the index after the discount retailer said it's reached a
conditional agreement to purchase 99p Stores Ltd. for an enterprise
value of 55 million pounds ($84.3 million).
Meanwhile, Tate & Lyle PLC shares slid 14% after the
ingredients maker said it expects full-year profit to come in below
its previous forecast. It said weak performance in its
bulk-ingredients unit in the third quarter is likely to run through
the fourth quarter.
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