Crisis, debt and a £46bn bailout: Inside Natwest’s return to private ownership April 24, 2025 Natwest is set to end one of British banking’s longest running sagas, as the lender stands inches away from returning to private ownership for the first time in nearly two decades. The FTSE 100 giant has whittled the UK government’s share in the bank to under three per cent, with a full exit expected in [...]
City broker upgrades Boohoo shares to ‘Hold’ April 23, 2025 City broker Shore Capital has upgraded fast-fashion retailer Boohoo, now trading as Debenhams, from a ‘Sell’ to a ‘Hold’ in light of its falling share price. Boohoo’s share price has dropped by more than a third since last November, after a series of poor trading updates and a public spat with Mike Ashley. Shore Capital [...]
FTSE 100 surges as Trump retreats on trade war April 23, 2025 The FTSE 100 inched closer to a full pre-’Liberation Day’ recovery on Wednesday as President Donald Trump dialled down on his bombastic trade rhetoric. The blue-chip index rose by over two per cent in early trading as stocks exposed to China surged. This followed the index finishing in the green for the seventh consecutive day [...]
Foxtons: Sales revenue booms on stamp duty completion rush April 23, 2025 Revenue at London’s largest estate agent Foxtons has risen by a quarter, driven by the large number of completions brought forward to benefit from stamp duty relief. The company said that overall revenue rose by 24 per cent in the three months ended March 31, with a 73 per cent rise in sales revenue. Foxtons [...]
Reckitt Benckiser: Dettol, Durex and Gaviscon drive growth but America lags April 23, 2025 Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has reported an uptick in profit driven by its core brands and emerging markets despite a slowdown in North America. Group revenue at the company rose by 1.1 per cent in the first quarter of the year. This growth was driven by emerging markets China and India, where like-for-like revenue [...]
FTSE 100 sees best winning streak in two years as trade war fears abate April 22, 2025 The FTSE 100 finished in the green on Tuesday for the seventh consecutive day, notching its best run of gains in two years as investor worries over protracted trade wars began to soften. London’s blue-chip index closed on a 0.64 per cent gain at 8328.60. Distribution firm Bunzl ended trading as one of the top [...]
Pound on best run since 1971 as FTSE 100 claws back gains April 22, 2025 The pound and the FTSE 100 continued their strong runs on Tuesday on the back of US instability. Sterling was on track for its 11th day of gains, which would be its longest streak since January 1971 – when the currency switched to the decimal system. It was up 0.6 per cent to $1.34 against [...]
Rentokil: Slow US growth continues to hold pest control giant back April 17, 2025 Pest control giant Rentokil has reported an uptick in revenue despite continued slow growth in North America. Organic revenue grew 3.3 per cent to $1.63bn (£1.23bn) in the three months to March 31, driven by growth in Europe and Asia. The Crawley-based company, which is listed in London and operates across 80 different countries, said revenue growth [...]
Halfords: Sales jump but retailer warns tariffs could hit supply chain April 15, 2025 Motoring and cycling specialist Halfords has reported an uptick in sales but warned US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could push up costs across its supply chain. The retailer and services provider told markets this morning that sales grew 2.3 per cent in the year to March 28. Its share price rose more than 13 per [...]
WPP: FTSE 100 giant offers free-lunch Friday to get staff into office April 13, 2025 The FTSE 100 advertising agency WPP has began offering free lunches to lure employees back into the office on Fridays. From April, WPP’s team of 108,000 people is expected to be in the office at least four days a week. The new rules require employees to work in the office at least two Fridays a [...]