RBS in the red as mega-fines for PPI mis-selling and forex-rigging wipe out profit April 30, 2015 RBS could be on-track to pay a dividend if its turnaround continues, its chief executive said yesterday, as the bank’s underlying profitability improved in the first quarter of 2015. But it made another loss, this time of £446m, as it struggles through its restructuring, and set aside another £856m to cover legal costs and [...]
Royal Mail share price sent higher by end to rival Whistl’s LDC deal April 30, 2015 Royal Mail shares shot up 5.3 per cent yesterday on news Lloyds private equity arm LDC had pulled out of investment talks with the owner of rival postal service Whistl. LDC said its decision to end discussions with Dutch postal operator PostNL was due to “ongoing changes in postal market dynamics and the complexity [...]
When raiders strike: Are US activist investors in City boardrooms a force for good or a costly nuisance? April 30, 2015 When US investor Nelson Peltz walks into a boardroom carrying a piece of paper you know there’s going to be trouble. Peltz, best known in the UK for bouncing Cadbury’s into a series of spin-outs and mergers, has a tried and tested tactic for effecting change: meet a chief executive, present him with a [...]
Foxtons warns of sales slowdown as home buyers await General Election outcome April 30, 2015 London estate agency Foxtons warned that the General Election had put the brake on sales as prospective homebuyers await the outcome of next week’s polls before making plans. The company, famous for its fleet of Green Mini Coopers, reported revenues of £33.1m in the three months to 31 March, down 3.1 per cent on [...]
Saga investors rewarded with 4.1p dividend as insurer posts 9.6pc jump in pre-tax profit April 30, 2015 Specialist insurer Saga posted a 9.6 per cent jump in pre-tax profit for the year ended 31 January 2015, up to £195.5m from £178.3m the year before. The company, which targets the over-50 market, failed to live up to expectations when it listed on the London Stock Exchange in May last year. It floated [...]
LinkedIn share price plummets as second quarter outlook fails to impress April 30, 2015 LinkedIn once again beat expectations, but a bleak outlook for the second quarter didn't go down well with investors. The figures During the first three months of 2015, the social networking site's revenue went up to $638m (£415m), 35 per cent higher than last year's first quarter figure. This was ahead of the $636.5m [...]
Yorkshire currency trader arrested in global Ponzi probe April 30, 2015 A Yorkshire-based trader has been arrested as part of an investigation into a global Ponzi scheme that cost investors tens of millions of pounds. City of London Police said yesterday that a 59 year-old was arrested in East Yorkshire by detectives on suspicion of fraud by false representation and money laundering. So far they've received complaints from [...]
Woolworths redundancy case: European Court of Justice decision good for business, lawyers say April 30, 2015 British businesses breathed a sigh of relief this morning after the European Court of Justice ruled in favour of the UK government in the controversial Woolworths redundancy case. The case dates back to Woolworth's demise in 2008 (and subsequently 2010, when it also affected former Ethel Austin staff), when more than 4,000 employees did [...]
RBS is failing to win over its customers around the UK April 30, 2015 RBS's share price fell this morning after revealing it had earmarked a further £446m for anticipated forex costs. But that's not the only problem facing the bank. It's really struggling to shake off its image and is failing to win customers around pretty much across the board. The bank has set itself the [...]
TSB boss Paul Pester eyes up acquiring other challenger banks April 30, 2015 TSB, the self-styled challenger bank spun-off from Lloyds last year, could gobble up its competition if the bank's boss has his way. Paul Pester wants to "take on the big guys" and would consider buying up other challenger banks to make that happen. "We are Britain's biggest challenger bank, but we want to really take [...]