Saga profits jump after motor unit drives ahead October 1, 2015 Insurer Saga posted a 140 per cent jump in pre-tax profit for the six months to 31 July, up to £101.3m from £42.2m, and announced its first interim dividend of 2.2p. The company, which specialises in products for the over-50s, highlighted its motor business, which saw a 9.7 per cent increase in policies. Trading Ebitda [...]
Glencore share price rises after chairman Tony Hayward buys more shares September 30, 2015 This is either a vote of confidence in the company's prospects, or a baby step towards a surreptitious management buyout – either way, one Glencore exec has decided to increase his stake in the commodities miner and trader today. Glencore chairman Tony Hayward has hoovered up an additional 100,000 shares at 91p per share, according to [...]
Fnac makes £533m takeover offer for Darty as it seeks to create French electronics giants September 30, 2015 French electronics and music retailer Fnac has made a takeover bid for Darty in a deal that would value its UK-listed rival at £533m. Shares in Darty have soared as much as 17 per cent this morning after Fnac confirmed it has made an offer of 101p per share, 25 per cent above yesterday’s closing price [...]
Whitbread’s Costa coffee chain to pay baristas above National Living Wage September 30, 2015 First it was Starbucks. Now coffee chain Costa has also followed suit by announcing a pay hike for its staff ahead of the government’s national living wage. From tomorrow Costa baristas in London (of all ages) will earn a minimum of £8.20 an hour, rising to over £9, the Whitbread-owned chain said. Meanwhile staff working [...]
As Volkswagen’s woes trundle on, Porsche names new chief executive September 30, 2015 Porsche – whose chief executive Matthias Mueller sped off to Volkswagen last week to cope with its ongoing emissions scandal – has wasted no time in installing a new leader behind the wheel: the company named Oliver Blume, a member of its executive board for production and logistics, as new chief executive. Blume has previously [...]
Quindell share price rises on report of loss and dropping sales after rocky period September 30, 2015 The figures The troubled insurance claims processor has reported a pre-tax loss of £35.4m for the first half of 2015. Revenue has dropped to £35m, down from £43m. These figures come just weeks after the company released full-year accounts restating past earnings. Quindell shares were up after the results, trading 2.15 per cent up in [...]
VW emissions scandal: First UK legal move against Volkswagen as law firm Leigh Day calls for “full refund” over emissions-cheat cars as car giant admits 1.2m British cars affected September 30, 2015 A UK law firm has made what is thought to be the first legal move against Volkswagen in the wake of the emissions cheating scandal, as the car giant admits that almost 1.2m UK cars may have been fitted with the cheat device. Volkswagen said this morning that more than 508,000 VW passenger cars sold [...]
The business case for boardroom diversity: Diverse boards outperform male-only peers by £430bn September 30, 2015 Boardroom diversity boosts business, as diverse boards are outperforming their all-male peers by billions. Listed companies in the UK, US and India with at least one woman on their board beat male-only boards by $430bn in 2014, according to a report from Grant Thornton which measured the difference in returns on assets. Although this isn’t [...]
VW emissions scandal: Volkswagen’s reputation has been driven off cliff September 30, 2015 Volkswagen has had better weeks. As the first major car maker caught up in the diesel emissions scandal, the public’s feelings towards the previously loved German marque have plummeted. YouGov’s Buzz score – measuring whether people have heard positive or negative news about the brand in the past two weeks – has declined over [...]
Revolution Bars report increase in profits after successful IPO September 30, 2015 Revolution Bars yesterday posted an increase in revenues and profits in its first results since floating on the London Stock Exchange. The group reported a 2.9 per cent increase in sales, to £111.8m, and profits before tax of £2.9m at the end of June, up from £2.6m in 2014. Shareholders would be paid their first [...]