Housebuilder McCarthy & Stone to splash £1.5bn as sales jump March 31, 2014 RETIREMENT home-builder McCarthy & Stone is planning a £1.5bn investment splurge on land after revealing a sharp increase in its revenues. The company said yesterday that sales were up 49 per cent to £149.7m in the year to 28 February, with net profit swinging back into the black. Net profit came in at £11.5m, reversing [...]
Network Rail totting up cost of flood defence March 31, 2014 NETWORK Rail has set out its £38bn upgrade plans for the next five years, though new boss Mark Carne underlined the difficulty of cutting running costs while keeping Britain’s railways in shape. Carne and his team are totting up how much more money they will need to protect the railways against the weather, following the [...]
Boohoo.com shares hit new low despite 62 per cent leap in sales March 31, 2014 SHARES in Boohoo.com fell briefly below their offer price yesterday for the first time since their market debut, despite the online fashion retailer reporting a jump in full-year revenues. The Manchester-based company had its first day of trading on 14 March and saw shares open at 85p – well above the offer price of 50p. [...]
Allan Leighton to join cast of Peppa Pig March 31, 2014 PEPPA Pig owner and television distributor Entertainment One yesterday appointed former Asda chief exec Allan Leighton as chairman, in a move rumoured since September. Leighton also serves as chairman of set-top box maker Pace and was formerly chairman of the Royal Mail. James Corsellis will step down as Entertainment One’s chairman today.
Fool or fact: Can you spot these 1 April hoaxes? March 31, 2014 HAPPY April Fools’ day folks – the day the public is invited to fall for spurious headlines like teenagers fall for One Direction’s Harry Styles. And indeed, today’s news is littered with eyebrow raising stories. But which of them are sincere and which are a sham? We’ll give you the stories, you guess fool or [...]
Sir Paul Tucker’s mufti Monday March 31, 2014 ATTENDEES of the Eurofi High Level Summit in Athens were impressed yesterday to see how quickly the university lifestyle had affected former Bank of England deputy Sir Paul Tucker. The event, hosted by former IMF director Jacques de Larosiere and attended by the good and the great of European finance, kicked off with a panel [...]
Euro inflation slides to lowest level since 2009 March 31, 2014 INFLATION in the Eurozone continued its downward path this month, according to yesterday’s estimate, with consumer prices rising by only 0.5 per cent during the 12 months to March. The rate dropped from 0.7 per cent in February, and fell by more than expected. Inflation in the currency union is now at its lowest since [...]
Zero hour deal has benefits March 31, 2014 ZERO hours contracts do not deserve their poor reputation as an unreliable source of work, according to new research. A survey by law firm Bond Dickinson found almost half of companies (46 per cent) gave employees over a week’s notice before their hours were altered, with just 12 per cent giving less than 48 hours [...]
Candy Crush Saga maker King hunts staff for new bestseller March 31, 2014 CANDY Crush Saga game maker King Digital has gone on a hiring spree in a bid to dream up more bestselling games. The British computer games maker, whose shares tanked after its initial public offering (IPO) last week, is advertising 165 new jobs, which would increase its workforce by a quarter. Around half of the [...]
Global data for YouGov booms March 31, 2014 ONLINE pollster YouGov reported strong growth in its revenues yesterday, led by the growth of its branded global data services. Revenues grew nine per cent to £32m during the six months to 31 January, while the firm saw a loss of £400,000 due to restructuring costs. “We’re delivering on the strategy that we’ve put forward… [...]