UK PLCs suffer ‘worst quarterly results in years’ November 4, 2019 The UK’s publicly listed companies have suffered their worst quarter on average in nearly three years, according to a new report. More than half of UK firms listed on the main market have reported lower profits for the second consecutive quarter, collectively falling 4.5 per cent in the first drop since 2016. Read more: ECB [...]
People’s Vote revolt: Pressure increases on PR man Roland Rudd to resign November 4, 2019 PR tycoon Roland Rudd is at risk of being in violation of the Companies Act for his role in the ongoing People’s Vote row and needs to resign, according to campaign board members. Rudd has been at the centre of a power struggle at the campaign, with staff refusing to work under his leadership. Read [...]
Wework rival IWG sells Swiss business for £94m November 4, 2019 Wework rival IWG has made its latest international divestment with the sale of its Swiss business in a deal worth £94m. IWG has sold its 38 flexible co-working locations in Switzerland to a joint entity owned by private banking group J. Safra Group and real estate investor P. Peress Group. Read more: IWG in talks [...]
Suspicious package sent to Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson’s office November 4, 2019 Police are investigating a suspicious package that was sent to the Westminster office of Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson. Metropolitan Police officers attended the scene early this morning. Read more: Jo Swinson elected leader of the Liberal Democrats A statement from the Met said: “Police attended Portcullis House, Westminster at 0951hrs today following reports of [...]
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 [...]