Gambling stocks tumble as MPs call for online casino stake limit November 4, 2019 Shares in major gambling firms fell today after a group of MPs issued a report calling for the introduction of £2 stake limits for online casinos. GVC shares fell nine per cent to 816p, William Hill shares dropped seven per cent to 187p, 888 Holdings shares fell nearly five per cent to 171p and Rank [...]
Three reasons behind Mothercare’s fall into administration November 4, 2019 Mothercare’s UK retail business is set to collapse into administration, despite a rescue plan implemented last year, the retailer confirmed today. Mothercare has filed a notice of intent to appoint administrators to its 79 UK stores after determining they were “not capable of returning to a level of structural profitability”. So what exactly went wrong? [...]
Santander takes majority stake in Ebury for £350m November 4, 2019 Santander has snapped up a majority stake in UK-based fintech firm Ebury for £350m. The Spanish bank’s acquisition of a 50.1 per cent holding in the firm comes as part of a wider effort to target more growth from SMEs. Read more: Debate – will Uber’s move into banking succeed or fail? Ebury, which operates [...]
What Thomas Cook’s collapse tells us about the power of disruption November 4, 2019 | City Talk Whilst the failure of UK holiday firm Thomas Cook was sudden and a considerable shock to many, the writing has been on the wall for some time now. Driven by technology and specifically by the advent of online booking and reservation systems, the travel industry has long been undergoing a radical transformation across each of [...]
GVC shares fall 10 per cent as new chair appointed November 4, 2019 Gambling group GVC said today it had appointed the chairman of Homeserve to chair its business. Longstanding chairman Lee Feldman, who has been on GVC’s board for 15 years and chaired the company for 11, will step down on 27 February. He will be succeeded by Barry Gibson who has been appointed as a non-executive [...]
Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital boosts revenue and profit November 4, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s digital agency S4 Capital increased both revenue and profit in the third quarter, it said today. In a trading update for the three months to 30 September it said revenue was up almost 54 per cent to £56.6m and gross profit up 50 per cent to £42.1m. Year-to-date revenue grew over 46 [...]
Insurer Hiscox sets aside $165m for catastrophe claims November 4, 2019 A trio of natural disasters has caused Hiscox to set aside $165m (£127m) for claims, exceeding the insurer’s catastrophe budget for the second half of the year. The FTSE 100 specialist insurer said this morning that it has reserved a net $165m based on insured market losses for hurricane Dorian and typhoons Hagibis and Faxai. [...]
‘Distressing decline’: UK construction sector contracts again November 4, 2019 The UK construction sector shrank once again in October, survey data has shown, with civil engineering suffering its worst month in a decade as Brexit uncertainty continued to plague the industry. Read more: UK economy to hit decade low even with Brexit deal, report warns The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a gauge of [...]
Tories unveil domestic policy pledges ahead of election November 4, 2019 The Conservative Party has announced four domestic policies on low pay, prisons, police and education as it gears up for a general election next month. The policy pledges included an independent review backing plans for an increase to the national living wage and investment at seven prisons to help reduce drug smuggling and the use [...]
British Airways owner IAG pays €1bn for Air Europa November 4, 2019 British Airways’ parent company, IAG, has reached a €1bn deal to acquire rival Air Europa in a bid to bolster its presence in the South Atlantic. The deal means IAG can turn its Madrid hub into “a true rival” to the four European hubs of Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Heathrow and Paris Charles De Gaulle airports, the [...]