Mitie flogs its loss-making healthcare business for just £2 March 1, 2017 Mitie has agreed to sell its loss-making home healthcare business to specialist investor Apposite Capital for a nominal £2. Shares in the FTSE 250-listed service provider rose more than six per cent in morning trading. The firm has had a challenging year, overhauling its management and issuing three profit warnings since September 2015. The group announced in November [...]
The government’s tapping up Lloyds, Barclays and Google for digital skills March 1, 2017 The government is turning to private business, including Lloyds, Barclays and Google, to help the UK become skilled for the modern age with ambitious new plans. It has announced partnerships with the well known institutions to offer training in digital across the UK, to push forward the country's march towards a digital economy, putting these skills on a par with literacy [...]
How did Sir Philip Green end up paying £363m towards the BHS pension scheme? Key episodes in the BHS box set March 1, 2017 Sir Philip Green finally stumped up some (well, quite a lot of) cash for the BHS pensions black hole yesterday, after a year of publicly fighting with MPs, Goldman Sachs bankers, journalists, and former race car driver and bankrupt Dominic Chappell. The sorry saga started two years ago, when Green was seeking advice from Goldman Sachs about [...]
A former City headhunter is transforming a sleepy French jam-making operation into a multi million pound business March 1, 2017 A former City headhunter is transforming a sleepy French jam-making operation into a multi million pound business supplying jams and condiments to Luxury hotels around the world. Eli Gifford, 34, once placed workers in London's distressed debt hedge fund industry for Morgan Hunt. Now he has doubled the size of a small Jam-making operation in [...]
UK house prices rose by just £600 last month March 1, 2017 UK house price growth was flatter than yesterday's pancakes in February, with prices inching up just 0.6 per cent between January and February. That works out at an average of £600. Figures published by Nationwide showed prices grew 4.5 per cent in the year to February, up very slightly from January's 4.3 per cent. The [...]
Ofcom will leave current postal rules in place for five years after Royal Mail performance improves March 1, 2017 Communications regulator Ofcom has said it will leave current postal rules in place for five years after concluding a review of Royal Mail regulation, saying it had made progress. The regulator said the service had been under "significant pressure" incurring a loss of more than £100m in 2011 as people continued to send fewer letters, but [...]
President Trump promises “new chapter of American greatness” in first speech to Congress March 1, 2017 President Donald Trump promised a "new chapter of American greatness" in his first speech to Congress, though he's still yet to provide detail on his plans. The President said the US was witnessing a "renewal of the American spirit" and that "our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead". Read more: Migrants [...]
ITV profits rise – but ad sales fall in “uncertain” market March 1, 2017 Pre-tax profits at ITV rose in the year to the end of December, it said today – but ad sales dipped three per cent, partly thanks to uncertainty. The figures Anyone worrying about the fate of ITV in a post-Downton Abbey era needn't have bothered. The company said total revenue rose three per cent to £3.1bn, while pre-tax [...]
Waterstones reads between the lines to go local as unbranded stores put it in the bad books March 1, 2017 Earlier this week, it was revealed that bookselling giant Waterstones has opened three small unbranded stores in locations across England. Some have argued that in opening shops purporting to be “independent” without notifying consumers of the real owners Waterstones has been underhand. Others have stressed that any effort that pushes books – while filling empty [...]
Consumer goods group Ultimate Products heads for a £100m-plus IPO in the next few days March 1, 2017 Ultimate Products, the innovative consumer goods group, is set for a £100m-plus IPO in London within days. It will list on the main market under the name of UP Global Sourcing Holdings. The IPO’s pricing could take place as early as today. The placing is understood to be substantially oversubscribed with investors taking part believed [...]