Competition probe into Greene King’s Spirit Pub takeover moves on to consultation stage June 4, 2015 Greene King’s proposals to the Competition Market Authority (CMA) regarding its acquisition of the Spirit Pub Company reached consultation stage yesterday. The consultation comes after the regulator raised concerns about the £774m merger shortly after it was announced in May. At the time the authority said the current proposal would “substantially” lessen competition in the [...]
Moneycorp profits up on boom in international payments unit June 4, 2015 Foreign exchange provider Moneycorp increased its gross profits by 26 per cent on the year in the first quarter of 2015, its financial results show today. Its earnings rose from £22.7m in the first three months of 2014 to £28.6m in the same period of this year. Retail growth was relatively subdued, with revenues up five [...]
Passenger numbers are up for EasyJet as summer approaches June 4, 2015 EasyJet yesterday announced a 7.2 per cent rise in passengers for May 2015, compared to May 2014. The budget airline flew 6.4m passengers last month, compared to 6m the year before. Its load factor, the average portion of capacity an airline has filled with travellers, was up to 91.2 per cent, from 89.4 [...]
Wizz Air unveils new routes and fares as passenger numbers soar June 4, 2015 Budget airline Wizz Air announced a 20 per cent rise in passengers for last month, compared to May last year. Passenger numbers were up to 1.6m, from 1.3m last year. This was in part helped by the introduction of two new A320 aircraft, which have 180 seats each. The firm also announced that capacity was [...]
Royal Mail share price drops as government announces plans to sell off its remaining stake June 4, 2015 Shares in the Royal Mail fell more than three per cent to 510p in early afternoon trading, after the chancellor said the government will begin selling off its remaining stake in Royal Mail this year. Read more: Royal Mail revenues rise by a measly one per cent During a debate over the contents of the [...]
Supermarket sweep: Here’s how Britain’s rapidly changing grocery sector will look in 2020 June 4, 2015 Here's a slither of good news for Britain's embattled grocery sector – growth is likely to pick-up over the next five years, according to food and consumer goods researcher and charity IGD. The grocery market will swell by 13 per cent to £200.6bn by 2020, as growth picks up from a low of 1.7 per [...]
Swiss prosecutor drops HSBC money laundering probe without criminal charge June 4, 2015 HSBC can start to breathe easily – at least when it comes to the money laundering claims. Swiss prosecutors have dropped their investigation into its private bank after reaching a financial settlement that carries no admission of guilt. HSBC has agreed to pay SF40m (£27.8m) to the Genevan authorities investigating alleged money laundering [...]
Morrisons AGM: The best quotes so far June 4, 2015 It might not be quite as explosive at last year's event but the annual general meeting of troubled supermarket Morissons is shaping up to be another lively affair. The best lines so far A shareholder on new chief executive David Potts: “It's nice to hear the new chief executive talking English. The predecessor [Dalton Philips] [...]
UK car sales slowed slightly in May June 4, 2015 Car sale growth slowed to 2.4 per cent in May, down from a rate of 5.1 per cent a month earlier, nevertheless economists said that this wasn't a cause for concern. Dealers registered 198,706 vehicles in May, marking 39 months of consecutive growth according to data released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). [...]
Lloyds Banking Group faces record £100m PPI fine this week June 4, 2015 UPDATE: Lloyds Banking Group fined £117m for PPI failings Lloyds Banking Group could be slammed with a record fine from the FCA for its handling of PPI complaints. The bank – which is currently still part-owned by the taxpayer – could receive a penalty of “well over £100m” from City watchdog the FCA . [...]