Scrapped: Guy Hands ‘pulls out of takeover plans’ for German Cartonplast August 8, 2019 Private equity magnate Guy Hands is said to have abandoned takeover plans for a European packaging business. His firm, Terra Firma Capital Partners, has withdrawn from negotiations to buy German packaging company Cartonplast, according to Sky News. The withdrawal raises questions about the ability of one of the most prominent British financiers to land fresh [...]
British Steel preferred buyer will be decided in coming days August 8, 2019 Business secretary Andrea Leadsom is poised to announce the government’s entrance into exclusive talks with its preferred buyer of stricken industrial firm British Steel. Leadsom held a conference call with the three potential buyers still in the race earlier today, telling them one would be chosen in the coming days. Read more: British Steel’s collapse [...]
Thyssenkrupp issues another profit warning amid manufacturing slump August 8, 2019 Thyssenkrupp, the German steel making giant, today gave its fourth profit warning under chief executive Guido Kerkhoff, who faces mounting pressure to turn the company around. The firm announced it expects to make around €800m (£738m) profit this year, a significant downgrade on its previous forecast for a figure between €1.1bn and €1.2bn. Read more: [...]
Car crash: Hastings share price sinks as rate change hurts profit August 8, 2019 Insurer Hastings saw shares fall seven per cent this morning as profits were slashed nearly in half over the first six months of the year. Last month, the government changed the Ogden discount rate, which determines how much insurers have to pay out to people who have been injured in accidents, to a level which [...]
Property investment plummets in first half as Brexit uncertainty hampers market August 8, 2019 British commercial property investment plunged by a third in the first half of the year because of Brexit-related uncertainty, while residential transactions were at their lowest since the global financial crisis, according to real estate giant Savills. Investment activity in greater London commercial property fell 31 per cent in the first half of 2019, while [...]
Eon struggles against energy price cap but ploughs on with landmark German deal August 7, 2019 German energy firm Eon has suffered an abrupt fall in profit for the first half of the year, as it struggled against Britain’s recent cap on electricity prices. The firm stuck by its profit targets for the whole year, despite being hit by a “particularly challenging” market in the UK. Shares fell 2.45 per cent [...]
Ultra Electronics shares jump as firm benefits from increased US defence spend August 7, 2019 Defence engineering firm Ultra Electronics jumped 9.7 per cent today after it hiked its interim dividend. The FTSE 250 company enjoyed growing profit, revenue and orders in a “solid” first six months of the year. The figures In the first half of 2019, pre-tax profit rose to £37.9m, almost doubling from £20m the same time [...]
Boeing crisis: 737 Max grounding cuts global airline seats by 40m August 7, 2019 The grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max means at least 40m fewer aircraft seats will be available this summer. Aviation regulators across the globe grounded the jet in March after two crashes triggered by a faulty anti-stall system killed 346 people. Read more: Boeing takes $4.9bn hit on 737 Max groundings to compensate airlines Boeing hopes [...]
Flutter Entertainment struggles in face of betting tax hikes as profit plunges August 7, 2019 Flutter Entertainment, the gambling group formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair, has suffered a difficult first six months under its new moniker, with profits falling by a quarter as significant betting tax increases kicked in. Firms in the gambling sector are trying to counteract the new regulation by boosting revenues. Flutter succeeded in doing this, [...]
Scrapped: Government cancels bidding for Southeastern rail franchise as fresh search for operator begins August 7, 2019 The government has faced accusations of running Britain’s railways “on the hoof” after it scrapped the bidding process for the Southeastern rail franchise, making it the latest botched procurement by the Department for Transport (DfT). Officials will now have until 1 April 2020 to choose the next franchise operator. Go-Ahead Group, which currently operates the [...]
