Big energy suppliers drop third of their profit in a year October 3, 2019 Big Six energy suppliers have lost more than a third of their profits over the last year as they keep losing market share to smaller competitors. EDF, Npower, SSE, Eon and Scottish Power and British Gas, which used to have a near monopoly on supplying energy to households in the UK, saw their share drop [...]
PAI Partners cooking up bid for Mary Berry food group October 3, 2019 Private equity firm PAI Partners is reportedly preparing a bid for a food group behind a brace of UK brands including Linda McCartney, Hartley’s jam, and Mary Berry desserts. The Paris-based firm is in discussions about a possible acquisition of Hain Daniels Group, the UK arm of US-based firm Hain Celestial, Sky News reported. Hain [...]
Defeat for women in landmark state pension legal fight October 3, 2019 Millions of women face the prospect of retiring later or surviving on less, after campaigners lost a significant legal battle against the government over increases to the state pension age. Nearly 4m women born in the 1950s were hit by the government’s decision to bring the retirement age for them up from 60 to 65, [...]
Boris Johnson: Brexit offer ‘is genuine’ attempt to bridge EU gap October 3, 2019 Boris Johnson has addressed MPs on his new Brexit offer, calling it a set of “constructive and reasonable proposals”. The Prime Minister said the plans for the Irish border “do not deliver on everything that we would have wished” but said they represented a compromise that would break the deadlock in parliament. Read more: MPs [...]
UK weather: Coasts braced for ex-hurricane storm Lorenzo October 3, 2019 The UK is set for heavy rainfall and gales today as it braces itself for stormy weather from anticipated remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo. A number of yellow wind warnings for parts of England and Northern Ireland have been released by the Met office ahead of the storm’s arrival, which is set to bring winds up [...]
Speaker John Bercow loses voice ahead of Prime Minister’s Commons address October 3, 2019 House of Commons Speaker John Bercow has lost his voice on the day Boris Johnson is expected to set out his new Brexit proposals to MPs. Bercow appeared to struggle to speak this morning while taking questions in the Commons. “Order,” he said with a croak, provoking some laughter in the Commons. “It won’t last [...]
Stagecoach to stop share buy back programme at £30m October 3, 2019 Stagecoach will stop its share buy back programme once it has reached £30m, the transport giant announced this morning. Earlier this year, the firm announced a share buy back programme worth up to £60m over the next year following the government’s decision to bar it from three rail franchises. Read more: Abellio takes over East [...]
Metro Bank share price makes further gains after successful bond sale and Vernon Hill exit October 3, 2019 Metro Bank’s share price recovered further gains in its share price this morning following a busy day involving the departure of its controversial chairman and a successful bond sale. Shares in the under-fire lender rose more than five per cent to 240p after the bell this morning, adding to a 26 per cent rise during [...]
Imperial Brands CEO Alison Cooper quits after profit warning October 3, 2019 The chief executive of cigarette maker Imperial Brands has announced she will step down from the role. Alison Cooper’s departure comes after the firm issued a profit warning amid regulatory crackdowns on e-cigarettes in the US. Read more: US vaping deaths hit growth at Imperial Brands Last week the company said that a spate of [...]
Pensions watchdog cracks down on dodgy data October 2, 2019 Britain’s pensions watchdog has launched a crackdown on poor record-keeping by schemes, ordering them to urgently review their data to make sure savers get the retirement pay they are entitled to. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is asking the trustee boards of 400 pension schemes to conduct a data review within six months. These schemes are [...]