Aggreko puts brave face on as first quarter revenues slide April 28, 2016 Aggreko has insisted full year figures will come in as forecast, despite a double-digit drop in revenues during the first quarter. The figures Underlying revenue for the three months to 27 April was 14 per cent behind last year, with reported revenue down 17 per cent, the temporary power provider said. Revenues in its rental solutions arm fell nine per cent [...]
Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green could face grilling from two separate MP committees over BHS’ demise and £571m pension shortfall April 27, 2016 Update: The most recent owners of BHS will be called in front of MPs, according to reports. MPs on the business, innovation and skills (BIS) select committee will call them in to give evidence, Sky News has reported. Meanwhile, the Work and Pensions select committee has said it will call former BHS boss Sir Philip Green [...]
Former BHS owner Dominic Chappell “preparing bid” for BHS – but insiders think he’s “living in cloud cuckoo-land” April 27, 2016 The former owner of BHS, Dominic Chappell, is close to making a bid for the iconic retailer that entered administration on Monday – but sources have already dismissed him as "living in cloud cuckoo-land". Chappell, who is facing pressure under claims he took £1.5m out of the firm and moved into another company called BHS [...]
AnaCap in talks to buy Barclays’ French arm April 27, 2016 European private equity group AnaCap Financial Partners has entered exclusive talks to buy Barclays' French retail banking and wealth business. The division offers services including current accounts, deposits and mortgages, as well as a variety of products including life insurance and wealth management. The business has a network of 74 branches across France. If a deal is [...]
Home Retail Group profits slump 28 per cent as firm admits “disappointing” performance from Argos April 27, 2016 Home Retail Group – the company everyone wanted a slice of earlier this year – has revealed a full year profits drop of 28 per cent as sales ticked down. HRG and Sainsburys' share prices were both down in early trading. The figures The Homebase and Argos parent company said benchmark pre-tax profit fell 28 per cent [...]
Barclays profits tumble 25 per cent as investment banking woes continue April 27, 2016 Barclays pre-tax profits have fallen by almost a quarter year-on-year as the investment bank division struggled to perform. But with a sign of progress being made, and confidence about the outlook for the rest of the year, Barclays' share price rose 3.9 per cent in early trading. The figures Barclays' first quarter pre-tax profit dropped 25 per [...]
BHS administration: Sir Philip Green could face MP grilling over £571m pension deficit April 26, 2016 MPs are to decide tomorrow whether former BHS boss Sir Philip Green should be called in for questioning over the demise of the iconic high street name and its towering £571m pension deficit. BHS entered administration yesterday with debts of £1.3bn. The pension liabilities have been passed onto the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) – which is [...]
Standard Chartered’s share price leaps as troubled bank begins to show signs of turnaround April 26, 2016 Standard Chartered's share price leaped more than 10 per cent today, as the beleaguered bank revealed green shoots in its turnaround plan. The figures This time three months ago, StanChart was revealing an $876m (£601bn) underlying pre-tax loss, today it has reported a profit of $539m. Compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, operating pre-tax profit was up 264 per [...]
Austin Reed appoints AlixPartners as administrators, putting 1,200 jobs at risk – but buyers are already circling April 26, 2016 Just one day after British stalwart BHS entered administration, another iconic name has been forced to follow suit. Austin Reed has this morning entered administration, affecting 1,184 staff. Peter Saville, Kevin Coates and Catherine Williamson, of AlixPartners Services have been appointed joint administrators. It comes a result of cash flow difficulties arising from challenging retail market conditions, [...]
Women on boards: Could creating a Female Stock Exchange be a way to redress the balance? April 26, 2016 Frustrated by the FTSE 350’s “one step forward, two steps back” progress towards getting more women on boards, I’ve had an idea. Why not create a Female Stock Exchange dedicated to helping companies run by or for women to raise finance and grow? Let’s face it, thanks to uncertainty over Brexit, the City is already in flux, a [...]
