BUSINESS LIVE: Abu Dhabi group buys London developer; Dominos Pizza firm faces takeover; House prices rise for third month in a row

House prices edged up in November off the back of an improving mortgage market, Nationwide reported today, but the rise came from a statistical quirk.

While Britain’s biggest building society recorded a 0.2 per cent increase in the average house price on its index, this was down to seasonal adjustment.

The non-adjusted average house price actually dipped slightly from £259,423 to £258,557, Nationwide’s house price index showed.

Nonetheless, the third monthly rise in a row indicates signs of stabilisation on the index, with house prices now down just 2 per cent annually.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief xconomist, said: ‘UK house prices rose by 0.2% in November, after taking account of seasonal effects.

‘This was the third successive monthly increase and resulted in an improvement in the annual rate of house price growth from -3.3 per cent in October, to -2.0 per cent.

‘While this remains weak, it is the strongest outturn for nine months.’

The future of X appears to hang in the balance as Elon Musk told advertisers, who were traditionally the lifeblood of its revenues, to ‘go f***’ themselves.

The expletive outburst from the billionaire came as major companies continue to boycott the social media site, formerly known as Twitter, after a report last month revealed tweets from companies such as Apple were placed alongside racist content.

Firms including Disney, Apple and Comcast have cut ties with X over the claims, as well as controversial tweets from Musk himself. But late on Wednesday Musk pushed back against the mass exodus of advertisers.

AstraZeneca will discontinue two late-stage trials looking at the potential benefits of its drug Lokelma in the management of hyperkalaemia across the cardiorenal spectrum.

Hyperkalemia (HK) is a chronic condition characterised by high levels of potassium in the blood.

The therapy, which provides rapid potassium reduction and sustained potassium control, has been approved for the treatment of a broader HK patient population in 56 countries globally.

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker scrapped the two trials due to substantially increased enrolment timelines and low event rates, respectively.

‘The decision to discontinue the trials is not due to safety concerns and the positive benefit-risk of Lokelma does not change in the approved indication,’ AstraZeneca said in a statement.

The board of the London-listed Domino’s Pizza franchise operator for Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan has slammed an ‘unsolicited and opportunistic’ takeover attempt by India’s Jubilant Foodworks.

DP Eurasia, which filed for bankruptsy in Russia this August, has seen Jubilant Foodworks build a 53.52 per cent stake in the business.

Jubilant Foodworks has indicated that it intends to make an offer at an offer price of 85p per DP Eurasia ordinary share.

The board of DP Eurasia said on Friday: ‘DP Eurasia has worked openly and constructively with Jubilant Foodworks operationally and recognises the value that it brings.

‘However, the Board is extremely disappointed that Jubilant Foodworks decided to proceed in this unsolicited and opportunistic way and without first seeking to reach an agreement on terms which the Board would be able to endorse as in the best interests of all stakeholders.

‘The Board is determined to protect the interests of the Company’s minority shareholders and other stakeholders, continues to advise shareholders to take no action and will outline its position in a further update early next week.’

BP’s search for a chief executive is set to extend into next year.

The oil company has been in turmoil since Bernard Looney quit in September, and its shares have dropped 9 per cent, while rival Shell’s have gained 2 per cent.

Murray Auchincloss, previously the chief financial officer, is the acting chief executive role and there has been speculation he will get the official job, but reports suggest no decision will be made until 2024.

Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties has bought London-based developer London Square for an enterprise value of roughly £230million, with the group’s first acquisition outside the Middle East intended to see the development of ‘larger and prime central London sites’.

The companies said the transaction should also have a positive impact on sales, given the opportunities to cross-sell across their respective customer base.

Established in 2010, London Square is widely known for its Nine Elms development, located in proximity to the Battersea Power Station.

The development features over 750 luxury homes, affordable housing and 21,500 square feet of commercial and retail space.

Aldar is 25%-owned by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company and 26%-owned by International Holding Company, which is part of a business empire overseen by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and brother to the president.