Severn Trent says it’s still on target for its full year results, increases expected payout from Ofwat February 3, 2016 Water utility firm Severn Trent has increased its guidance for the net reward from outcome delivery incentives for the financial year to £15m. It had previously expected just £10m. The company gets a pay-out from the industry regulator Ofwat if it over delivers on its performance targets. The regulator ensures water companies pass on savings to consumers and offers [...]
GlaxoSmithKline revenue rises four per cent in 2015, forecasting further growth in 2016 February 3, 2016 Drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has reported earnings for 2015 up four per cent on last year at £23.9bn, with a profit of £10.5bn. In the fourth quarter revenue rose by two per cent to £6.2bn, from £6.1bn in the same period a year earlier. Fourth quarter results came in broadly inline with expectations, mostly down to growing demand for [...]
Government to force councils to reveal empty properties as part of housing push February 3, 2016 Local authorities are to be forced to publicly disclose all the properties they own as part of government plans to make better use of public sector land and build more homes. Speaking at the Government Property Conference this morning, Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock said that through the Housing and Planning Bill councils will be [...]
Audioboom chosen as content provider for new Google Play app February 3, 2016 London-based streaming service Audioboom has just been selected for Google Play, making it the first non-US content provider for the app. A total of 12 producers have been chosen to create content for the Google Play app, currently being revamped ahead of its new launch later this month. We’re thrilled to be partnering with @GooglePlay & [...]
Top shareholder Old Mutual backs Sainsbury’s bid for Home Retail Group February 3, 2016 One of Home Retail Group's top shareholders has publicly backed Sainsbury's £1.3bn cash and shares offer for the Argos-owner, despite previously calling for a bid of at least 200p per share. Old Mutual, which owns a 3.6 per cent stake in Home Retail, making it the retailer's third largest shareholder, said it regards the latest offer by Sainsbury's [...]
Boots drops prices on female-focused razors, eye cream and other products that cost women more than men February 3, 2016 Boots has caved into pressure from MPs, cutting prices on products that forced women to pay more than men. The high-street chain has changed the price tags on own-brand disposable razors and Botanics eye roll-on, after an online petition gathered more than 40,000 signatures. The Change.org campaign claimed women were being ripped off on the high street [...]
FTSE 100 index opens lower as oil prices continue to drag on investor sentiment February 3, 2016 The FTSE 100 index opened lower this morning as oil prices dragged down investor sentiment (again). The UK's blue-chip index opened 0.57 per cent down at 5,889 points, led lower by Hargreaves Lansdown and Barclays. "This fresh bout of oil price weakness appears to have been driven by the very same concerns that drove the decline in [...]
Swiss firm Syngenta agrees to takeover by China’s state-owned ChemChina worth over $43bn February 3, 2016 A bid worth more $43bn (£30bn) by China's state-owned ChemChina's for Swiss seeds and pesticides group Syngenta has been accepted. The deal is the largest ever overseas acquisition by a Chinese firm, and the second largest in the chemicals industry in the past year. Read more: Syngenta rises after Monsanto takeover talk In a statement, Syngenta said ChemChina will pay $465 per [...]
Canary Wharf to outstrip other London office districts in 2016 with strongest rental growth February 3, 2016 Canary Wharf’s gleaming office towers have lagged slightly behind rival districts last year, posting an eight per cent rise in rental growth against 12 per cent in the City and an astonishing 24 per cent leap in Shoreditch – thanks to the cool kids moving in. However, with rents becoming increasingly unaffordable for small to [...]
Why do entrepreneurs move to the countryside? Falling land values sparks rise of rural startups, says RICS February 3, 2016 There is an entrepreneurial revolution taking place it is happening among Britain’s green pastures, a new report claims. Rising property prices in city centres and falling land values have made buying a plot in the countryside increasingly attractive to those outside traditional farming communities, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), fuelling a surge in new business [...]