‘Difficult year’ for discount retailer B&M as profits fall almost a half Retail A series of updates from London-listed retailers has light on the battle for sales between online and traditional outlets, with household spending under pressure, writes Michael Hunter. FTSE 250 retailer B&M has revealed a drop of almost a half in annual profit in what it called a “difficult year”. It was the most eye-catching piece [...]
Zopa Bank’s profit booms despite ‘penalised’ motor finance hit Fintech Zopa Bank cruised to its third consecutive year of profitability in 2025 but has offered a stark warning it feels “penalised” by the UK’s financial watchdog after getting swept up in the motor finance scandal. The Canary Wharf fintech has set aside £7.9m in provisions for the car mis-selling saga, which centres around the use [...]
Vanquis boss defends scrapping dividend as bank swings to profit Banking The boss of Vanquis Bank has said he makes no apologies for a “conservative” approach to capital distribution as he launched a staunch defence of the group’s decision to axe its dividend for the second consecutive year. Ian McLaughlin, who took the helm at Vanquis in August 2023, said the bank’s “number one priority” was [...]
Diploma: Shares in FTSE 100 firm rocket after profit upgrade May 20, 2025 Shares in FTSE 100 firm Diploma rocketed on Tuesday after the firm upgraded full-year guidance and delivered a strong performance for the first six months of its financial year. In its half-year report, the company, which distributes specialised technical products and services, noted a 14 per cent jump in revenue to £728.5m. Organic revenue growth [...]
Ramsdens: Pawnbroker raises guidance profit on high gold price April 8, 2025 Pawnbroker Ramsdens has raised its profit guidance for the year, boosted by the high gold price and income from jewellery. It now expects profit before tax for the 2025 financial year, which ends on October 1, to be at least £13m. This is up from £11.4m last year and £1m ahead of previous expectations. The [...]
Currys upgrades outlook as sales outperform April 3, 2025 High sales growth at Currys has led the electrical retailer to increase its expected profit for the full year. Its share price rose more than 10 per cent in early trades. The company told markets this morning that adjusted profit before tax is now expected to be around £160m, versus previous guidance of £145m to [...]