Bwin.party share price rises after 888 Holdings takeover bid May 18, 2015 Shares in bwin.party soared over six per cent in early trading after rival 888 Holdings confirmed it had submitted a bid for all of bwin.party's share capital. Read more: 888 pays out as strong results give investors special dividend By contrast, 888's share price fell over five per cent, with investors seemingly not sold on its plans. 888 [...]
Mitie share price rises despite homecare and house building struggles May 18, 2015 The figures Shares in FTSE 250-listed waste management outsourcer Mitie opened over three per cent higher at 297p this morning after it heralded a year of "significant progress" with rises in revenue, profit and earnings. In its results for the year ending 31 March, Mitie reported a 5.8 per cent rise in revenue to £2.3bn [...]
Acquisitions send Babcock pretax profit soaring 43 per cent May 18, 2015 The figures Shares in engineering and support services group Babcock opened 2.52 per cent higher, at 1,108p, after results showed revenue climbed 20 per cent to £3.9bn in the year to March 2015, up from £3.32bn the year before. Similarly, pre-tax profit rose 43 per cent to £313.1m, up from £218.8m a year earlier. Nonetheless, net debt rose to £1.32bn – up [...]
Barclays to settle £2bn forex-rigging case May 17, 2015 Barclays Bank is closing in on a major £2bn settlement with regulators around the world, drawing to a close its role in the deeply damaging foreign exchange markets rigging scandal. The bank, whose chief executive is Antony Jenkins, is attempting to settle with a number of regulators simultaneously. Last November it pulled out of a [...]
Agents bet on UK housing market activity boost after General Election May 17, 2015 Agents are expecting housing market activity to pick up following a decisive outcome to the General Election. “Now the months of uncertainty are finally over, we are already witnessing confidence returning to the market with buyers and sellers in a more informed position to make the decisions they were putting off,” said Andrew Weir [...]
Allianz growth plan on track as premiums grow in first quarter May 17, 2015 Premiums grew by five per cent at Allianz UK in the first quarter of 2015, as the German-owned insurer continues with plans to become a £3bn firm by the end of 2018. Gross written premium went up to £555m, from £528m in the same period of 2014, and combined ratio improved to 97.7 per cent [...]
Britain could be about to enter brief deflation May 17, 2015 The UK could enter deflation for the first time since comparable records began when figures are released tomorrow morning. Yet most economists believe inflation’s venture into negative territory will be short-lived, given that oil and global food prices have halted their declines. The consumer price index (CPI) – the basket of goods used to measure [...]
Chairman of JCB Lord Bamford says economy would not be affected by Brexit May 17, 2015 The chairman of one of Britain’s largest manufacturers said today that Britain’s trade relationships would be unaffected if the country were to vote to leave the European Union in an in/out referendum. “We are the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world. We could exist on our own – peacefully and sensibly. We could [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary to seek CMA damages as Irish government gets green light May 17, 2015 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary was fighting a rearguard battle with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over the weekend as he sought to maintain his firm’s stake in Aer Lingus. The threat from O’Leary to seek damages from the regulator, made in the Telegraph, is the latest salvo in the long-running dispute. O’Leary has maintained [...]
Palatine orders up £13m buyout of cocktail chain The Alchemist May 17, 2015 Upmarket cocktail chain The Alchemist has said it is planning to gobble up more sites across the UK after completing a £13m management buyout backed by Palatine Private Equity. The Alchemist, which first opened its doors in Manchester in 2010, runs two venues in the city centre as well as sites in Leeds and in [...]