Homebase to be rebranded Bunnings after Wesfarmers completes £340m acquisition from Home Retail Group – now what’s happening with Argos? February 29, 2016 Home Retail Group has sold off its DIY chain Homebase to Australian group Wesfarmers, after shareholders voted 99.3 per cent in favour of the move. The deal, which was first submitted in December, valued the 265-store home improvement business at £340m. It was approved at an AGM last week and the deal was completed on Saturday [...]
Morrisons’ share price climbs as supermarket and Amazon reveal Pantry and Prime Now tie up – but Ocado’s share price is plummeting February 29, 2016 Morrisons' share price soared 5.4 per cent this morning, after revealing it had secured a major new agreement with Amazon, to sell "hundreds of products" via Prime Now and Pantry. The new tie-up, which will go live "in the coming months", will see Morrisons provide a wholesale supply service to Amazon, offering delivery of its ambient, fresh and frozen products. [...]
Watch: Flying Scotsman travelled from King’s Cross station to York today and there were crowds throughout the journey February 25, 2016 Commuters in King's Cross were met with an unusual sight this morning. The iconic steam train the Flying Scotsman has just left the station on its inaugural run to York after being painstakingly restored to its former glory. After 10 years and £4.2m, the locomotive has been restored to its historic British Rail green, as it races [...]
Merlin to be prosecuted by Health and Safety Executive over Alton Towers Smiler crash, in which two passengers had to undergo leg amputations February 25, 2016 Alton Towers parent company Merlin Entertainments is to be prosecuted over last year's Smiler crash, in which five people were seriously injured. The Health and Safety Executive said today that Merlin Attractions would appear at North Staffordshire Justice Centre, Newcastle-under-Lyme on 22 April to face a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Two female passengers were [...]
George Osborne’s relentless attack on hardworking savers is making pensions freedoms meaningless February 25, 2016 At first, George Osborne seemed pension savers’ best friend. ‘Pension freedoms’ – the ability to take money from pensions however you like – were probably the only pension good news most can remember. Then came the sneaky U-turn. Osborne hasn’t taken away pension freedoms, but appears intent on making them meaningless. If he has it his way, there [...]
UK immigration: Numbers of Romania and Bulgaria coming to the UK soar – but 87 per cent come for “work-related reasons” February 25, 2016 The UK's net migration risen 31,000 between 2014 and 2015, official figures show – but it's more down to fewer people leaving the country than a jump in the number of people coming here. Between September 2014 and 2015, the number of long-term immigrants rose 2,000 to 617,000 – which the ONS said was "not [...]
West End hostage: Police arrest 39-year-old man after taking waitress, two diners hostage in Bella Italia, Leicester Square February 25, 2016 Police have arrested a man after a two-hour hostage standoff at a West End restaurant last night. Dozens of Met officers surrounded the Bella Italia on Irving Street, just off Leicester Square at around 8:50pm last night after a man took a waitress hostage. The suspect is believed to have armed himself with a knife from [...]
Megabrew deal: AB InBev raises dividend as it confirms it’s on track to complete SAB Miller deal February 25, 2016 AB InBev's share price fell more than two per cent this morning, as it revealed it had missed expectations for its fourth quarter results, despite the Belgian-Brazilian group raising its dividend. However the deal to create the world's largest brewer is on track to be completed in the second half of the year. The figures [...]
Ofcom: BT’s share price rises as telecoms giant avoids Openreach spin-off – for now February 25, 2016 BT's share price climbed this morning after it narrowly avoided being forced to spin off Openreach into a separate company by the industry regulator. Ofcom has said BT must open up its network to competitors and reform Openreach "to better serve UK customers and businesses", but it stopped short of insisting it would have to carve up [...]
EU referendum: In case of Brexit investors should brace themselves for turbulence in equities – particularly if those stocks are affected by European trade February 24, 2016 Last weekend saw David Cameron return from Europe with details of his renegotiated deal for Britain’s membership of the EU. While the date for the referendum (23 June) and the question which the populace will need to answer are now certainties, the implications of a Brexit are still extraordinarily unclear. Many individuals and commentators claim to know what [...]
