Santander profits rise as it wins over current account customers April 28, 2015 Santander UK’s profits rose sharply in the first quarter as the lender continued to win customers from rivals. The high street bank yesterday reported profits of £470m for the three-month period, up 13 per cent on the year. It is engaged in a fierce battle with Halifax for new current account customers. Both brands offer [...]
Growth stalls as parties speed to the finish line April 28, 2015 New preliminary figures released yesterday showed that growth in the UK economy slowed in the first three months of this year. The slowdown could dent the re-election prospects of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, yet economists and business groups played down the significance of the data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that GDP [...]
Kier Group will raise £340m to pay for Mouchel April 28, 2015 Construction group Kier will control 30 per cent of the UK’s road network if its proposed deal with international infrastructure firm Mouchel goes ahead. The FTSE 250 company yesterday confirmed that it has entered into a conditional agreement to buy Mouchel in a deal worth £265m. Shares in Kier Group went up by [...]
Balfour Beatty sells Edinburgh stake for £72m to specialist fund manager Equitix April 28, 2015 The transformation of infrastructure group Balfour Beatty moved forward again yesterday, as the company announced the sale of its 50 per cent interest in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh public-private partnership for £72m. Balfour’s investment is being bought by funds managed by specialist fund manager Equitix, and the sale is expected to complete in June. [...]
London business bosses come out against mansion tax policy April 28, 2015 Over half of London business leaders are opposed to a so-called mansion tax, according to a new survey. ComRes conducted a poll of more than 500 London business leaders for the London Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI). It found that 52 per cent of them are against an additional tax on properties valued [...]
GoPro share price dips despite huge rise in profits April 28, 2015 The camera-maker had a great start to the year, but its results have failed to impress investors. The figures During the first three months of 2015, GoPro's profits went up to $16.8m (£10.95m), or 11 cents per share. This is almost double the value posted in the first quarter of 2014, and exceeds analyst expectations [...]
Twitter share price plummets as results are leaked early and fail to meet expectations April 28, 2015 Twitter had a disappointing first quarter, and this was made even worse by the accidental leakage of its results. The figures In the first three months of 2015, Twitter experienced a 74 per cent rise in revenue to $436m (£284m), and had earnings of seven cents per share. This failed to meet analyst expectations of [...]
Endurance International Group’s share price is tanking after Gotham City compared it to Quindell, Gowex April 28, 2015 Gotham City Research has got investors' attention with a note about Endurance International Group (EIGI), with a target share price of “$0.00 per share”. The shadowy analyst firm posted an intriguing tweet earlier today saying it had found a company “that gets us just as excited as Quindell and Gowex did”. https://twitter.com/GothamResearch/status/593045486216425472 [...]
Mortgage approvals just jumped to a six-month high in March April 28, 2015 Mortgage approvals hit a six-month high in March, but they're still about 14 per cent lower than a year ago, according to data released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA) today. Mortgage approvals for house purchase rose to 38,751 in March, up from 37,453 in February and the largest amount since September last year. "The [...]
RBS spin-off Williams & Glyn loses chief executive John Maltby ahead of IPO April 28, 2015 Williams & Glyn, the challenger bank being carved out from RBS as a condition of the latter's bailout during the financial crisis, has lost its chief executive before it has even launched. John Maltby will be replaced by Jim Brown, currently chief executive of Ulster Bank. Maltby will take up his former role [...]