Lloyds halfway out of bailout with £10bn sale May 12, 2015 More than half of the government’s stake in Lloyds has now been sold back to private investors, raising more than £10bn for the Treasury so far, the government announced yesterday. The latest sale of £500m of shares takes the taxpayer’s stake to below 20 per cent, compared with 41 per cent when the bailout [...]
Gateley looks to outsiders in bid to bolster firm ahead of London IPO May 12, 2015 A corporate law firm tracing its roots back to the industrial revolution hopes to gain “first mover advantage” by becoming the first legal outfit in Britain to list on the stock market. Gateley, which was founded more than 200 years ago in Birmingham, is hoping to transform its corporate structure from a limited liability [...]
EasyJet share price slumps despite rise in profits as airline seeks to fly over April May 12, 2015 Shares in easyJet hit turbulence yesterday, despite the company announcing a pre-tax profit for the half year up to 31 March. The low-cost carrier announced a pre-tax profit of £7m for the six-month period, but its share price slumped, closing down 9.77 per cent, due to profit fears caused by a difficult April. [...]
Insurer Hiscox’s growth lifted by fewer disasters in first months of 2015 May 12, 2015 International specialist insurer Hiscox has reported a 12 per cent quarterly increase in gross written premiums (GWP), boosted by currency movements and fewer disasters. The London-listed company said premiums for the three months ending 31 March rose to £561.7m from £501.6m at the same time last year. Chief executive Bronek Masojada said: “It’s been an [...]
Saga share sale increased after demand grows May 12, 2015 Advidors were forced to increase the size of the Saga share sale to 122.5m yesterday evening after strong demand. The shares will be priced at 195p. Acromas had earlier announced that it intended to sell a minimum of 77m shares in specialist insurance group Saga, representing a seven per cent stake in the company. The [...]
Sales of Mini five-door models motoring as BMW hits April high May 12, 2015 BMW car sales rose 5.6 per cent, to a record 148,896 last month, as strong demand for its 2-Series van in Europe and offroad vehicles in the US helped offset sluggish Chinese demand. Meanwhile, deliveries of the Mini brand rose 28 per cent, to 26,766, due to full availability of the new three- and five-door [...]
Tesco closes remaining Homeplus stores with loss of 450 jobs in Bracknell, Cheshire, Bristol, Nottingham, Manchester and Preston May 12, 2015 Tesco is bringing to an end its non-grocery Homeplus stores across the UK with the closure of its remaining locations. The last six of the retailer's Homeplus stores will close with the loss of 450 jobs, bringing to an end its venture in non-food retailing in the UK as it seeks to turnaround huge losses. Stores [...]
EasyJet share price falls after it warns on tough outlook May 12, 2015 The figures: Budget airliner easyJet made £7m profit in the six months to March, up from a loss of £53m last year. Additionally revenue per seat – a measure of profitability – rose 2.6 per cent on a constant currency basis. Nonetheless it shares were trading down 8.5 per cent at 1,677p this morning after it warned on its [...]
The government has just sold off more Lloyds shares May 12, 2015 After being in government for just a few days, the Tories have sold another load of shares in taxpayer-backed Lloyds, reducing its stake in the bank to less than 20 per cent. It sold £500m shares in Lloyds under a trading plan to gradually sell off shares, that was first outlined in December. And this means [...]
Experian’s growth stalls despite strong UK performance May 12, 2015 One word sums up Experian’s growth during the last financial year: sluggish. The figures Total revenues were $4.8bn (£3.1bn), while revenue growth was at one per cent at actual exchange rates, rising to three per cent at constant currency rates. Organic revenue rose one per cent, after a stronger final quarter. Benchmark profit before tax [...]