IG Design: Card maker’s cost-cutting drive starts to pay off despite profit plummet October 29, 2024 Profit at IG Design, the world’s largest maker of greeting cards, wrapping paper and gift bags, has been slashed but the firm is now cash generative and expecting to make a comeback in the second half of the year. As expected, group revenue fell 11 per cent in the six months to September, causing adjusted profit to [...]
Wickes returns to growth but warns pent up DIY demand is easing October 22, 2024 Home improvement firm Wickes reported it had returned to growth over the summer today but warned its sales were likely to wane as pent up DIY demand eases in the coming months. The London-listed retailer reported a 2.1 per cent growth in revenue, or 0.4 per cent on like-for-like metrics, with retail revenue growing by [...]
St James’s Place: Analysts back UK’s largest wealth manager October 18, 2024 By the end of the quarter, funds under management had swelled to £184.4bn, up from £181.9bn the quarter before and also ahead of consensus.
Brooks Macdonald buys financial advisor amid takeover rumours October 8, 2024 Brooks Macdonald has bought independent financial advisor LIFT in a deal worth up to £45m, as takeover rumours swirl around the group. LIFT has £1.6bn in assets under advice, with £600m of this being funds under management. The firm is headquartered in Greater Manchester, with offices in London and Edinburgh, and has around 1,400 clients, [...]
Panmure Gordon suffered £7.2m loss before merger with Liberum September 23, 2024 Panmure Gordon continued its loss-making streak in the year before its merger with City rival Liberum in the latest sign of factors influencing consolidation among Britain’s corporate brokers. The investment bank posted a £7.2m loss for the 12 months ending on 31 December 2023, according to newly-filed accounts. This compares to a £16.3m loss in [...]
Deliveroo shares hop to two-year high as it aims for upmarket move September 11, 2024 Deliveroo shares bounded to a two-year high on Wednesday after the food delivery company announced plans to switch the category of its stock listing, in a move that could attract a wave of new investors. The company is proposing to move its shares from the Equity Shares (Transition) category to the Equity Shares (Commercial Companies) [...]
Investors brace for wave of share buybacks from UK companies September 4, 2024 The UK is on the cusp of a “regime change” in corporate attitudes towards share buybacks, Panmure Liberum analysts have said. Looking through financial statements, Panmure Liberum analysts Joachim Klement and Susana Cruz found that mentions of buybacks have risen 144 per cent over the last year for FTSE 100 companies, with a 79 per [...]
UK set to be the ‘standout performer’ among major economies September 4, 2024 Analysts at Panmure Liberum think the UK will be the “standout performer” among major economies in the months to come with firms set to benefit from strengthening domestic demand. In a note published this morning, the City brokerage discussed its early cycle indicator (ECI), a tool for predicting how economies are likely to perform over [...]
Hays set to reveal profit slump amid tough recruitment market August 18, 2024 Hays is set to be the latest recruiter to reveal lower profits in the face of a challenging hiring market next week. The FTSE 250 commercial recruitment firm has already warned it was set for a “subdued summer” amid cost-cutting across the business to bolster its finances for the longer-term. Investors will be hoping that [...]
Rightmove shares slump after firm ends contract with Openrent after terms dispute August 6, 2024 Rightmove shares have slumped after the company announced that its contract with online letting agent Openrent would soon end after both parties failed to agree on the conditions of the deal. Rightmove said that resale listings on its platform would not be affected by this change but the news clearly disappointed the market as the [...]