Competition watchdog kicks off probe into JD Sports’ Footasylum acquisition July 24, 2019 The competition watchdog has kicked off its probe into JD Sports’ acquisition of Footasylum. JD Sports bought the remaining shares in the footwear retailer in a deal worth £90m in March this year, with shareholders approving the sale the following month. Read more: JD Sports on track to meet profit expectations However, the Competition and [...]
The bigger they come: The amazing story of Wentworth Woodhouse, the largest home in England July 24, 2019 You’ve heard of Chatsworth, and Castle Howard, that Brideshead dream. You’ve heard of Blenheim Palace, the Duke of Marlborough’s monumental home. But what about Wentworth Woodhouse, the biggest house in England? Wentworth Woodhouse, the former seat of the Earls Fitzwilliam, could have been a house lost to history. Five miles from Rotherham, it sits in [...]
Freefall: Boeing makes $3.4bn loss on 737 Max grounding in second quarter July 24, 2019 Boeing this afternoon posted a $3.4bn (£2.7bn) quarterly loss, as it continues to struggle with mounting costs relating to the grounded 737 Max plane. The massive losses come after Boeing’s surprise announcement last week that it would set aside $4.9bn (£3.9bn) to compensate airlines for the disruption caused by the jet’s grounding. Read more: Boeing [...]
Union suspends Heathrow Airport July strikes but warns August action ‘still on the table’ July 24, 2019 Strikes that threatened to shut down Heathrow Airport this Friday and Saturday have been put on hold while Unite the union considers a new pay offer. More than 4,000 workers, including security guards, engineers and those in passenger services, were due to strike over pay, over Friday and Saturday and on the 5, 6, 23 [...]
How one man defied Stalin and risked death by firing squad to conceal outlawed art from the Soviets July 24, 2019 If you had to hide a work of art, where would you put it? And what if there were 80,000 of them, you needed to keep them safe for an indeterminate but undoubtedly lengthy period, and the penalty for discovery was imprisonment in a Soviet gulag, or even death? The man who accomplished this feat, [...]
Aston Martin revenue warning leaves shareholders shaken, not stirred July 24, 2019 A week before Aston Martin’s half-year results are due, the James Bond car maker has yet again used its license to kill the share price. The luxury manufacturer this morning cut its sales expectations to 6,300-6,500 vehicles, down from 7,100 to 7,300 cars. Read more: Aston Martin shares crash 24 per cent as it slashes [...]
UK mortgage approvals rise in June July 24, 2019 The number of mortgages approved in the UK reached one of it’s highest levels in the past two years in June. Last month the number of mortgages given the go-ahead for house purchases rose to 42,653 up from 42,407 in May and close to April’s two-year high of 42,792, according to data from UK Finance. [...]
Drop in retirement income sales hits insurer Just Group July 24, 2019 Just Group’s share price tumbled more than seven per cent in morning trading, as the specialist insurer posted a fall in retirement income sales. In a trading update released this morning, the financial services firm said that sales during the first half of the year tumbled 30 per cent to £831m, pushing shares down seven [...]
Beer sales slump dampens Marston’s share price July 24, 2019 Shares in pub operator Marston’s plunged more than 10 per cent today as the company announced that beer sales growth slumped due to poor weather. Sales have been hit by 2019’s “relatively poor weather” following last summer’s heatwave and the England football team’s World Cup success. Read more: Marston’s cheers rise in profits after strong [...]
Struggling Deutsche Bank misses estimates as losses exceed €3bn July 24, 2019 The scale of troubles at Deutsche Bank were laid bare this morning after the German lender posted worse-than-expected losses over the last quarter. Read more: Metro Bank’s chair to step down Dented by costs from a major business overhaul, the embattled bank reported quarterly losses of €3.15bn (£2.7bn) over the three month period, missing its [...]