Costain drops more than £200m in revenue as chief executive calls time March 6, 2019 Costain chief executive Andrew Wyllie will retire after 14 years at the helm, the construction company said today. Wyllie will be replaced by Alex Vaughan, managing director of the firm’s natural resources division, on 7 May after an annual general meeting. Read more: Costain awarded Network Rail contract for 'Meerkat' technology But the news was [...]
Provident Financial resolves regulation issues with City watchdog March 6, 2019 Doorstep lender Provident Financial has said it has "substantially resolved" recent regulatory issues as it revealed that it has hired a new boss to lead its Vanquis Bank business. The company, which has rejected a £1.3bn takeover bid from rival Non-Standard Finance (NSF), revealed that the Vanquis refund programme was more than 99 per cent [...]
Floored: Headlam blames UK market for a drop in like-for-like sales March 6, 2019 British flooring firm Headlam posted mixed results this morning that saw like-for-like revenue decline in both the UK and Europe, reflecting weak sales in the UK residential sector. The company also confirmed that it expects lower profits in 2019 due in part to “economic and political uncertainty”, after first warning of the hit in January. [...]
Hello Fresh delivers healthy growth as it draws up recipe to break even March 6, 2019 Meal kit firm Hello Fresh today posted a surge in its full-year and fourth quarter sales as it eyes plans to break even in 2019. The figures Revenues for the full year soared 41.4 per cent to €1.2bn (£1.03bn). Losses before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation narrowed from €70.1m to €54.5m. Total number of orders [...]
Shepherd Neame’s exceptional costs take fizz out of profits March 6, 2019 Brewer and pub group Shepherd Neame posted a modest rise in profit before tax for the six months to the end of December, despite being hit by refinancing and contract losses. The figures Underlying profit before tax rose 1.4 per cent to £5.9m in the 26 weeks to 29 December 2018. Like-for-like sales in the group’s [...]
Just Eat shares fall on 2019 outlook despite jumps in profit and revenue March 6, 2019 Just Eat scored huge boosts to profit and revenue in 2018 to relieve shareholder pressure to merge with a rival, it revealed today, but warned losses will impact 2019 earnings. The figures Profit before tax rose to £101.7m after a loss of £76m in 2017. Revenue rose 43 per cent year on year to £779.5m, [...]
Financial institutions beware – big tech is moving into banking March 6, 2019 Despite Brexit uncertainties and stock market collapses, British banks concluded their 2018 earnings season with improved performance. Profitability increased thanks to cost drives, while balance sheets strengthened through derisking assets. Banks’ ability to grow revenue, however, remains a perennial challenge. The quest to growth may be harder in the digital age. In a recent report [...]
Theresa May is delusional if she thinks she can win over Labour MPs March 6, 2019 Has the Prime Minister been reading “How to win friends and influence people”, by Dale Carnegie? It would make a change from “The bluffer’s guide to negotiating”. The thought came to mind when I read of Theresa May’s latest attempt to get Labour MPs to support her withdrawal agreement in the vote next week – [...]
DEBATE: Are cuts to police numbers the main factor behind the rise in London knife crime? March 6, 2019 Are cuts to police numbers the main factor behind the rise in London knife crime? Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, says YES. There is most definitely a correlation between rising crime and falling police numbers – to say otherwise is absurd. In 2010, there were 143,734 police officers in England and Wales. There [...]
Like the myth that the Earth is flat, the socialist conspiracy theory never dies March 6, 2019 The idea that the Earth is flat is a rapidly growing trend on social media. The Flat Earth Society’s Twitter feed has the best part of 100,000 followers. The fact that the planet is a sphere has been known since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. The astronomer Eratosthenes demonstrated it with a simple [...]