Ashtead chief executive to step down next May, replaced by chief executive of US arm November 29, 2018 Industrial equipment rental company Ashtead’s shares were up 5.7 per cent this morning as it announced chief executive Geoff Drabble is to step down in May after nearly 12 years in charge. Chief operating officer Brendan Horgan, who is also chief executive of the group’s North American business Sunbelt Rentals, will succeed Drabble on 1 May. [...]
Software giant Adobe invests £63.5m in UK as creative sector booms November 29, 2018 Adobe will invest £63.5m in its UK operations and increase its workforce by over 20 per cent over the next three years, the company said today. The investment is the latest British expansion by the US-based software company, which has grown its UK workforce by 30 per cent in the last two years. The Department for [...]
Britvic profits fizz in the face of challenging year as low sugar alternatives surge November 29, 2018 Britvic, PepsiCo's UK producer, defied a flat retail market hit by a CO2 shortage this summer to exceed expectations in its full year results, giving share prices a five per cent boost. But as traders felt the sugar rush this morning, consumers have done the opposite, moving towards low and zero-sugar alternatives in the wake [...]
Britain and US agree new post-Brexit open skies arrangement November 29, 2018 Britain and the US have reached a deal on a new open skies aviation agreement after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. The agreement will replace the existing EU aviation agreement with the US and guarantee that planes flying from the UK will have the same access to the US as they do [...]
Elon Musk abandons second LA hyperloop tunnel, opting for another instead November 29, 2018 Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has ducked out of plans to build a second high-speed passenger train tunnel in Los Angeles, after litigation forced his firm The Boring Company to back down from the project. Musk had plans to build the 2.7 mile-long Sepulveda tunnel on the western side of LA, however has since ditched development after [...]
Hostelworld camps down for flat growth but hints at future bookings boost November 29, 2018 Hostelworld today said its projected earnings for the full year are in line with expectations as it wraps up a strategic review to boost bookings in the coming years. The Dublin-based company said earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation are on track to meet the board’s expectations, but that like-for-like bookings are likely to [...]
Bottoms up: Greene King heralds heatwave as profits and revenue grow in World Cup year November 29, 2018 Shares in pub owner Greene King ticked up in early morning trading as investors welcomed growing like-for-like sales in its pubs across the UK after a sweltering summer saw drink sales swell. The figures Statutory profit before tax grew 3.2 per cent to £127.7m in the pub chain’s half-year results, compared to the same six [...]
Mortgage approvals rise to nine-month high while consumer borrowing growth slows, says Bank of England November 29, 2018 Mortgage approvals rose to a surprising nine-month high last month, while consumer borrowing increased at its slowest pace since May 2015, the Bank of England said today. While the Bank said mortgage market activity was “broadly stable” in October, households borrowed an extra £4.1bn against their homes and the number of mortgages approved rose to [...]
As Theresa May has shown, it’s crucial to keep a cool head when staff start jumping ship November 29, 2018 Love or loathe her, it’s fair to say that Theresa May has had a tough time recently. As if being tasked with successfully navigating Britain’s exit from the EU isn’t enough, members of her cabinet have been dropping like flies. Regardless of whether we’re looking at the world of business or politics, every leader knows [...]
Deutsche Bank’s offices raided by police in Panama papers probe November 29, 2018 Deutsche Bank’s Frankfurt offices have been raided by German police this morning in a suspected money laundering investigation. More than 170 police took part in the operation which was targeting two staff members who are alleged to have set up off-shore firms for clients to launder money from criminality. Noch ist unklar, warum ein Großaufgebot [...]