Primark owner shares surge as traders welcome ‘encouraging’ reopening July 2, 2020 Shares in Primark owner ABF jumped 4.5 per cent this morning after the firm issued a positive trading update over its chances of bouncing back from the coronavirus pandemic. Although group revenue at Associated British Foods (ABF) dropped 39 per cent in the third quarter, led by a collapse in sales at high street fashion [...]
Ryanair passenger numbers down 97 per cent as ‘air bridges’ wait goes on July 2, 2020 Ryanair flew just 400,000 people last month, the low-cost airline revealed today, as the coronavirus continued to cripple global aviation. The figure represents a 97 per cent drop on the same month in 2019, when the budget carrier flew 14.2m people. However, compared to April and May, in which the airline flew a combined 110,000 [...]
Bulb bolsters senior team as energy firm targets 100m customers worldwide July 1, 2020 Bulb has made the latest in a string of senior appointments as the challenger energy company ramps up its bid to expand to 100m customers worldwide over the next decade. The company, which has been the fastest growing firm in Britain for the last two years, has brought in Easyjet chief marketing officer Lis Blair [...]
Virgin Atlantic secures £200m from Virgin in bid for £1bn rescue deal July 1, 2020 Virgin Atlantic has secured £200m in additional funding from parent company Virgin as the embattled carrier seeks a total of £1bn in the coming weeks in order to stay afloat. The airline, which has seen its planes grounded for three months due to the coronavirus pandemic, has had its finances decimated by the virus and [...]
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary says 3,000 jobs at risk unless pay cuts agreed July 1, 2020 Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary today confirmed that the airline would cut 3,000 jobs if it was not able to agree pay cuts with staff. Speaking to the BBC, O’Leary said: “We’ve already announced about 3,000 job losses but we’re engaged in extensive negotiations with our pilots, our cabin crew and we’re asking them to all [...]
Serco boss defends ‘remarkable’ coronavirus test and trace system July 1, 2020 The boss of outsourcing giant Serco has issued a strident defence of the NHS’ coronavirus “test and trace” system, calling it a “huge achievement”. Speaking to City AM’s City View podcast, Rupert Soames said that 114,000 people had agreed to isolate after being contacted within the first three weeks of the programme. The company has [...]
Topps Tiles sales surge as reopening beats expectations July 1, 2020 Topps Tiles today hailed a successful reopening after the coronavirus lockdown, saying sales were ahead of its revised expectations for the period. Shares in the firm jumped on the back of the news, rising over eight per cent to trade at 48p. In June, average weekly sales at the company hit £3.3m, just 20 per [...]
Sainsbury’s sales up 8.5 per cent as grocer ‘feeds the nation’ during lockdown July 1, 2020 Grocer Sainsbury’s today said that total first quarter sales increased by 8.5 per cent as the supermarket beat expectations despite the coronavirus pandemic. It said that although it was forecasting a £500m profit hit due to the crisis, stronger grocery sales and business rates relief would offset the shortfall. Shares in the grocer jumped initially [...]
Lookers shares suspended as results delayed by accounting probe July 1, 2020 Car dealership firm Lookers today had its shares suspended from trading after failing to publish its final results due to an ongoing accounting probe. On Monday, the company said it had identified a £19m hole in its accounts after a number of years of overstated profitability. As a result, Lookers was unable to publish its [...]
Cobham chief to take top job at Babcock July 1, 2020 Defence firm Babcock has announced that David Lockwood will take over from chief executive Archie Bethel in September. Lockwood, who is currently chief executive of FTSE 250 defence firm Cobham, comes after Babcock swung to a £178m loss this year. Prior to Cobham, he was chief executive of tech firm Laird, and has previously held [...]
