A new deal will see Centrica buy 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year for 15 years. Photo: PA/Alamy

Centrica (CNA.L)

Centrica shares rose on Tuesday, up 0.6%, after it signed a $8bn (£6.2bn) agreement with US-based Delfin Midstream. The deal will see the owner of British Gas buy 1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year for 15 years.

It will take delivery of around 14 LNG cargoes per year and could provide enough energy to heat 5% of UK homes for 15 years.

It comes as European natural gas prices have extended declines for a second day, trading around its lowest levels in a month.

The benchmark contract fell as much as 4.7% amid tepid demand for the fuel, while UK prices also tumbled as gas consumption remained well below seasonal norms since the start of June.

UK liquefied natural gas imports also slumped to their lowest levels since the summer of 2021.

Begbies Traynor (BEG.L)

Begbies Traynor fell 1.7% in London despite the insolvency specialist reporting solid growth in revenue and pre-tax profit, ahead of market expectations.

Sales in the year to 30 April rose to £121.8m, up from £110.0m, while pre-tax profit jumped by half, from £4m to £6m. The firm also upped its dividend by 9% on last year to 3.8p.

During the year, Begbies acquired property finance brokerage Mantra Capital and two chartered surveyors — Budworth Hardcastle and Mark Jenkinson & Co.

Read more: FTSE higher as UK wage growth piles pressure on Bank of England

“Professional services consultancy Begbies Traynor tends to thrive when economic conditions are gloomy,” saAJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

“It has seen increased work for insolvencies, which reflects how businesses can crumble under the pressure of higher rates. Many companies have reached a tipping point where they cannot generate enough cash to service borrowings and so they have no choice but to fold.

“While it is easy to conclude these companies are profiting from the misery of others, both would argue they are doing an important service.”

Intel (INTC)

Shares at Intec rose 2.8% on Wall Street last night, and are up in pre-market trading on Tuesday after an index of semiconductors was up more than 2%.

It comes as optimism continues to grow that a sales downturn in the computer-chip industry has reached its nadir, thanks to a surge in artificial intelligence technology.

Last month the firm said it will ramp up its investment in two new semiconductor plants in eastern Germany from €17bn to €30bn. This was in exchange for higher government subsidies for the project. It also announced plans to build a $4.6bn semiconductor assembly and testing plant in Wrocław, Poland, which is expected to be ready by 2027.

Read more: Record UK pay growth fuels fresh interest rate hike fears

H&T Group (HAT.L)

H&T Group climbed as much as 1.4% on news that it saw 22% growth in pawnbroking loans to £128m in the first half of the year.

The company, which added that it has seen “growing momentum” so far in the second half, said its pledge book stood at roughly £113m at the end of June. This is 12% higher since the end of December and ahead over 32% since a year ago.

Jewellery and watch sales rose 10% by value driven by online demand, while it also revealed strong gold scrapping sales.

Russ Mould at AJ Bell said: “Pawnbroker H&T has been doing incredibly well over the past year or so as more people pledge assets as collateral for loans. Individuals who turn to pawnbrokers typically cannot get credit from banks and so they must seek alternative ways to borrow money if times are hard.

H&T says demand for pledge lending is at record levels and continues to gather momentum. If the economy does fall into recession, one might expect H&T to do even better.”

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