Shares take flight as Flybe confirms it is seeking sale in face of plummeting profits November 14, 2018 Flybe's share price soared 28 per cent this morning as the budget airline confirmed it is seeking a sale after revealing plunging profits. The airline told investors that “it is in discussions with a number of strategic operators about a potential sale of the company”. Flybe has appointed Evercore as its financial adviser, and the airline [...]
Business booms at S4 Capital as it tees up its second takeover November 14, 2018 Sir Martin Sorrell’s new outfit, S4 Capital, posted strong sales growth in the third quarter, the company said today. The firm, which was set up after Sorrell left advertising giant WPP, delivered revenues of over €29m (£26.2m) in the quarter, a rise of almost 45 per cent. Gross profit, meanwhile, shot up 32 per cent [...]
Aggreko trading on track thanks to Winter Olympics and Ryder Cup November 14, 2018 Power generator supplier Aggreko today reported trading in line with expectations for the nine months to the end of September, boosted by contracts with the Ryder Cup and Winter Olympics. The figures Total underlying revenue was up 11 per cent. Underlying revenue for the rental solutions division, which makes up 52 per cent of the [...]
Low-end offices face glut of demand as start-ups opt for fancy co-working spaces November 14, 2018 Office-sharing companies such as Wework are pressing down demand for lower-end offices in London as start ups move into plush new premises. The proliferation of co-working spaces is creating a “glut” in the secondary office space, research from Deloitte shows. Companies like Wework are taking some of the best offices in London, and represent about [...]
Top UK tech firms fall behind on racial and gender board diversity November 14, 2018 The UK’s top 500 technology firms are failing to represent women and ethnic minorities at senior levels, with women making up just 12.6 per cent of board director positions at tech companies. This is in comparison to performance in other industries, where 30 per cent of board members in the FTSE 100 are women. New figures released today [...]
Only one in five Govia passengers happy with handling of complaints, says watchdog November 14, 2018 Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is feeling the heat after a consumer survey shows only one in five passengers who filed a complaint were happy with how it was handled. Consumer watchdog Which looked at 12 months' worth of data from rail regulator the Office of Road and Rail (ORR), which received 42,000 responses from consumers. According to Which, only [...]
New Bond Street named the third-most expensive shopping street in the world November 14, 2018 West End thoroughfare New Bond Street has been named as the world’s third-most expensive shopping street today in a new global survey. Rent on New Bond Street came in at $1,744 (£1,344) per sq ft per year, behind the main street of Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay on $2,671 per sq ft and Upper 5th Avenue [...]
Businesses to splash out over £6bn on Christmas advertising November 14, 2018 UK businesses will fork out £6.4bn on festive advertising this Christmas during the final quarter, according to the Advertising Association. The expenditure, which is up 5 per cent on last year’s record amount, shows the growing competition between companies as they vie to make the season’s most popular advert and achieve festive fame. Many of [...]
Brexit worries prompt nearly a third of consumers to cut spending November 14, 2018 Nearly a third of British consumers have cut their spending because of Brexit, scrimping on luxuries and postponing investments amid doubt over the future of the UK’s relationship with the EU bloc. A survey of 4,015 Brits, conducted by professional services firm KPMG, found 31 per cent had already cut their spending. James Stewart, KPMG [...]
Italy rejects EU calls to amend budget ahead of deadline November 13, 2018 Italy defied a European Commission deadline to submit a revised budget tonight, telling the EU it will not change its expansive fiscal plans. Ahead of a midnight deadline, the Italian government said it was sticking to its guns. In a statement released after a cabinet meeting, deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini said its deficit target [...]