MARKET REPORT: Shares in IT firm Kainos fall as boss quits

Kainos shares fell after its chief executive called time on his 22 years in charge.

Brendan Mooney, who became the boss of the IT group in 2001, will leave at the end of September following the company’s annual general meeting.

That will bring an end to his time at Kainos where he worked for more than three decades, having joined as a trainee software engineer in June 1989.

During his tenure, Mooney led the company on to the London stock market in July 2015.

His replacement, Russell Sloan, who has been the digital services director at Kainos since 2013, also joined as a trainee software engineer a decade after Mooney.

‘My decision to step down was not an easy one, but made easier knowing the talent and motivation of the team leading the business today,’ Mooney said.

Sloan said: ‘Kainos is a thriving, growing and global business. I am excited to be taking over the role of chief executive in September and look forward to building on the success that has been created over the past decades.

‘We have much to be proud of as a team and look forward to many more achievements in the future.’

Belfast-based Kainos is an IT provider to the private and public sectors, with its digital services division accounting for more than 60 per cent of group sales.

Martin O’Sullivan, analyst at Shore Capital, said: ‘Brendan Mooney has been an exceptional leader for Kainos whose character, drive, vision and collegial approach have been instrumental to the group’s success.’

In a note last month, the broker said the mood music for Kainos in both the public and commercial sectors ‘remains extremely upbeat’ and it should ‘benefit from AI and intelligent automation-related transformations, which we believe are set for boom times in the years ahead’.

Shares, which floated at 139p, sank 5.7 per cent, or 80p, to 1337p.

The FTSE 100 fell 0.7 per cent, or 52.74 points, to 7588.48, and the FTSE 250 slipped 0.9 per cent, or 176.6 points, to 18854.29.

Asia-focused stocks fell into negative territory amid fears over China’s stuttering recovery.

Burberry shed 1.4 per cent, or 32p, to 2257p and miners slid across the board, with Glencore down 1.7 per cent, or 8p, to 459p, Anglo American fell 2.4 per cent, or 61p, to 2484p and Rio Tinto sank 1.6 per cent, or 86p, to 5214p.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: ‘The post-Covid surge anticipated in China appears to be losing momentum and there is uncertainty around how the authorities in the country might look to get things moving in the right direction.

‘That was reflected in a weak showing from Chinese tech firms.’ Britain’s housebuilders lost ground as data from the property website Rightmove (down 0.9 per cent, or 4.6p, to 529p) showed that house prices fell in June for the first time in six years.

The industry was also preparing itself for another expected interest rate hike this week with the Bank of England forecast to increase the benchmark level from 4.5 per cent to 4.75 per cent.

Persimmon fell 0.7 per cent, or 8p, to 1178p, Taylor Wimpey lost 1.9 per cent, or 2.05p, to 107.85p and Vistry Group slid 2.2 per cent, or 15.5p, to 707p.

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has its sights set on yet another High Street retailer.

The company, which owns Sports Direct, Jack Wills and Flannels among other brands, has taken a 8.9pc stake in Currys.

Shares in Frasers Group, which has increased its stakes this month in Asos (up 4.1 per cent, or 15.02p, to 385.42p) and AO World (up 4.8 per cent, or 3.9p, to 84.7p), rose 2.2 per cent, or 15p, to 712p, and Currys added 3.5 per cent, or 1.8p, to 52.95p.