Ryanair’s share price jumps 10 per cent as it raises profit forecast 25 per cent after discovering being nice to customers can really pay off September 9, 2015 Ryanair's share price leaped 10 per cent on the open this morning after raising its full year profit guidance by 25 per cent, as its bid to win over customers with an improved service takes off. The budget airline said full year net profit would now come in between €1.175bn and €1.225bn, up from previous [...]
Quindell buys remaining stake in loss-making PT Health September 9, 2015 Troubled insurance outsourcer Quindell has acquired the remaining 50.1 per cent stake in Canadian rehabilitation provider PT Healthcare Solutions. Quindell is issuing nearly 9.5 million shares for the acquisition, which is expected to close in mid-October. The deal will require approval from two-thirds of votes cast by holders of PT Health's common shares. [...]
Goldman Sachs and UBS’s £1 RBS and Lloyds bank share sale fee baffles top MPs September 9, 2015 An influential committee of MPs was puzzled yesterday by the revelation that some of the City’s biggest firms had charged the government just £1 for handling the sale of shares in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds. Top officials from UK Financial Investments (UKFI) – the body that manages the government’s stake in the lenders – [...]
UK pension changes prove positive for insurance group LV as half year profit jumps September 9, 2015 Insurance group LV reported a 103 per cent jump in operating profit during the first half of the year, a period in which the firm said it had altered its offering to suit changing customer needs. Group operating profit was up to £79m in the six months to 30 June, from £39m in the [...]
Mergers and aquisitions defy stormy global financial markets as M&A deals involving UK firms jump past £260bn September 9, 2015 Businesses pushed ahead with billions of dollars’ worth of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) yesterday, unperturbed by recent volatility that has shaken global markets. Deals involving UK firms jumped past the $400bn (£260bn) mark for the year to date as takeover Tuesday gripped the City. PaddyPower and Betfair agreed a £6bn merger; Cinven revealed [...]
Aldi and Lidl market share: The only way is up for discount supermarkets September 9, 2015 No-frills retailers such as Aldi and Lidl are set for decent growth in the UK, with experts predicting that an overall rise in spending will offset any substitution towards pricier retailers as the economy recovers. “With consumer confidence at its highest point in many countries since the global recession and economic growth expected to continue… [...]
UK housing marktet: Record low rates spur mortgage lending climb September 9, 2015 Record low borrowing costs and competition between banks led to a rise in mortgage lending from April to June, figures released by the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority showed yesterday. The total value of mortgages advanced was £52.5bn over the period, a 15.1 per cent jump on the same time last year. The [...]
Plexus unveils wellhead developed in response to Gulf of Mexico crisis September 9, 2015 AIM-listed oil and gas services firm Plexus Holdings yesterday launched its new Python Subsea wellhead, developed to address safety issues thrown into light by the Gulf of Mexico disaster in 2010. Plexus has been working on the new wellhead since 2011, as part of a joint industry project supported by BG, Shell, Maersk, Total and [...]
Lufthansa to cancel 1,000 flights tomorrow as pilots extend strikes September 8, 2015 German airline Lufthansa will cancel 1,000 flights tomorrow, after the pilot strike was extended into a second day and ramped up a notch. Lufthansa said its pilots' union broadened strike action from long-haul flights to medium- and short-haul services, meaning around 140,000 passengers will have to endure cancellations tomorrow. But it said 500 flights will still run, [...]
CBI chief Paul Drechsler sounds alarm over the National Living Wage September 8, 2015 The boss of one of Britain's biggest business bodies has warned over the unforeseen impact of the National Living Wage, amid growing concern from some of the companies that will be affected. "I've talked to several chief executives and been surprised by the impact on their profits of the change," Paul Drechsler, chief executive of [...]