Finsbury Foods doubles profit as Britons gobble up Disney cakes March 23, 2015 Finsbury Food said yesterday its profit nearly doubled in the first half of the year thanks to its recent acquisition of rival baker Fletchers and soaring demand for Disney’s Frozen celebration cakes. The sponge cake, featuring Olaf the snowman, flew off the shelves at Chistmas, helping to lift sales by 24 per cent to £107.6m. [...]
Dairy Crest sale of milk business to Muller referred back to UK watchdog March 23, 2015 Dairy Crest Group said yesterday that it was still on track to sell its dairy operations after being referred back to the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) yesterday by the European Commission for review. The company behind Cathedral City cheese and Frijj milkshakes is in the process of selling its loss-making liquid milk business [...]
FirstGroup’s Great Western contract win puts transport giant back on track March 23, 2015 After a string of disappointments, rail operator FirstGroup has at last had a bit of good news. Light appeared at the end of the tunnel for rail operator FirstGroup yesterday, with shares jumping 4.16 per cent after the company announced that its First Great Western franchise has been extended for another four years. Shareholders [...]
Volution Group looks to the future as profits rebound after IPO March 23, 2015 Ventilation specialist Volution Group has seen a remarkable turnaround in fortunes since its float, according to results released yesterday. The British company listed in June last year after previously being owned by a private equity group and reported a first half pre-tax loss in 2014 of £8m. But since its float the company has [...]
YouGov revenues rise as General Election enters knife-edge finale March 23, 2015 UK polling firm YouGov saw revenues rise 11 per cent in the six months to 31 January as the country gears up for the General Election. But despite the UK’s ongoing state of political fervour, the standout territory for earnings was the US, where YouGov counts Coca-Cola, Facebook and Google among its client base. YouGov [...]
Analysts: Bank levy could drive Standard Chartered abroad March 23, 2015 George Osborne’s major new hike in the bank levy could prompt Standard Chartered to leave the UK, analysts at JP Morgan said yesterday, as the tax puts it at a disadvantage against global rivals. Such a move – to a location such as Singapore or Hong Kong – could take two or more years and cost [...]
Ukip economic policy: Patrick O’Flynn takes aim at “onesie state” and promises tax cuts March 23, 2015 Ukip's economic spokesman Patrick O'Flynn has unveiled the economic policies the party will carry into the General Election. The headline pledges included upping defence spending by £3bn per year, hitting the Nato target of two per cent of GDP being spent on the military. "It is astonishing to think that UKIP goes into this election [...]
Strong pound subdues manufacturing exports, the CBI says March 23, 2015 The strong sterling and continued uncertainty for the Eurozone are subduing Britain's manufacturing sector. The CBI said that export orders had fallen to their lowest in more than two years. Just 10 per cent of businesses reported total order books that were above normal for this time of the year. while 35 per cent said [...]
RBS to sell stake in US subsidiary Citizens Financial March 23, 2015 Royal Bank of Scotland will shrink its stake in its US subsidiary Citizens Financial to below 50 per cent. Citizens Financial has announced RBS will sell off 115m shares in the company which only listed on the New York Stock Exchange in September. RBS will also grant the underwriters – including Morgan Stanley, Goldman [...]
Patrick Cescau exits Tesco board in clear-out – to be replaced by Richard Cousins March 23, 2015 Patrick Cescau, the senior non-executive Tesco director who led the search for the supermarket's new chairman, is leaving the firm's board, confirming speculation of his departure. Cescau's departure comes after six years with the retailer – it was widely believed he would depart after a new chairman was named to clear the way for a [...]