Greene King hit by drink-driving rules in Scotland May 5, 2015 Pub and restaurant group Greene King yesterday blamed recently tightened drink-driving laws in Scotland for flat sales. The company, whose brands include Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale, plus the Hungry Horse and Loch Fyne chains, reported just a 0.4 per cent increase in sales for the 51 weeks to 26 April, but said sales [...]
IPOs breathe life into stagnant small caps after investment struggle May 5, 2015 Investments in the UK’s smaller companies have struggled this year, but some fund managers are hoping that newly-listed companies will help revive the sector. Since the start of the year, small caps quoted on the FTSE Aim All-Share TR index have lagged their large-cap peers on the FTSE 100. But since April, smaller companies have [...]
UK Oil & Gas Investments share price dips after issuing second clarification on Horse Hill Gatwick “100bn barrels” oil discovery claim May 5, 2015 UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG), the firm behind a potentially huge oil discovery at Horse Hill near Gatwick, has issued a second statement clarifying the size of the find following comments made by the company's chairman. Shares dipped more than three per cent in afternoon trading after spiking as much as five per cent [...]
More changes on the Tesco board as Ken Hanna and Stuart Chambers quit May 5, 2015 It's all-change at Tesco at the moment: following the appointment of Dave Lewis as chief executive and John Allan as chairman, two of the supermarket's non-executive directors have decided to step down. More on this story: Is Sainsbury's about to have its Tesco moment? Ken Hanna and Stuart Chambers, who have served on the board for [...]
European Union GDP growth to hit 1.8 per cent this year – as Greek forecast is slashed to 0.5 per cent. May 5, 2015 The European Commission expects GDP to rise 1.8 per cent across the European Union, and by 1.5 per cent across the euro area as a whole. It's expected to benefit from low oil prices cutting business costs and giving consumers more disposable income, stronger exports as a result of the weak euro, and loose monetary policy [...]
HSBC profits rise as investment banking rebounds May 5, 2015 The figures Britain's biggest bank beat analyst expectations this morning, posting profit before tax of $7bn (£4.6bn) for the first three months of 2015, up from $6.8bn (£4.5bn) a year earlier. Reported revenue came in at $15.9bn (£10.5bn) for the first quarter of 2015, broadly unchanged from the same time last year. It added that reported operating expenses [...]
Ex-Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy’s investment firm eyes New Look bid with China’s CDH May 5, 2015 The investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), which names supermarket supremo Sir Terry Leahy among its advisers, is assembling a bid for high street fashion chain New Look, according to reports. The private equity firm, which former Tesco boss Leahy joined in 2011, has held talks with Chinese group CDH to mount a bid for [...]
European markets shrug off jitters over Greece as IMF pushes for debt relief May 5, 2015 European markets kept calm this morning, despite more jitters as the Greek government entered yet another round of talks with its creditors. The FTSE 100 rose 0.43 per cent in mid-morning trading, suggesting market uncertainty over the election is muted, while Germany's Dax fell 0.23 per cent and France's Cac edged down 0.03 per cent. [...]
Cheaper fuel lifts Lufthansa’s first quarter results May 5, 2015 The figures Lufthansa said this morning it made a net profit of €425m (£313m) in the first quarter of 2015, up from a €252m loss during the same period a year earlier. The airline's revenues rose eight per cent to €6.97bn. Nonetheless it still made an adjusted loss before interest and tax of €144m (£106m), although this was slightly better [...]
Watford’s Steve Easterbrook lays out turnaround plans for McDonald’s to halt flagging sales May 5, 2015 The Brit tasked with stemming flagging sales at McDonald’s unveiled his masterplan to reverse the slide yesterday – by slimming down the fast food chain’s structure, cutting costs and selling more outlets to franchisees. Steve Easterbrook, the Watford-born accountant who spent two decades at McDonald’s British HQ in east Finchley, said he aimed [...]