Construction firm Morgan Sindall expects better than expected full year performance November 3, 2021 Construction group Morgan Sindall has said it anticipates a full year performance above its initial expectations, despite rising inflation. The London-based group forecast an average daily net cash of around £290m for the full year, in a trading update on Wednesday. It said its average daily net cash from July 1 to October 29 was [...]
Fridays owner Hostmore admitted to London Stock Exchange November 2, 2021 Hostmore – the new parent company of restaurant chain Fridays – has started trading on the London Stock Exchange. The group – which oversees 63rd+1st as well as Fridays – announced a demerger had been completed, separating it from Electra Private Equity. Shares were admitted to the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday morning with 126,127,279 [...]
French Connection £29m takeover approved by shareholders November 2, 2021 Fashion firm French Connection’s shareholders have put their support behind a £29m takeover. Buyer Apinder Singh Ghura – who has experience in the clothing sector as well as property and care homes – joined forces with partner Amarjit Singh Grewal, and KJR Brothers, headed by textile businessman Rafiq Patel. The move means the retailer is [...]
Build to rent developer Watkin Jones forecasts £430m revenue November 2, 2021 Rental developer Watkin Jones has reported an optimistic trading update, forecasting £430m revenue. Its forecast revenue is slightly below expectations but with a stronger gross margin that reflected the timing of land sales either side of the year end, it said. In the trading update for the year ended September 30 2021, the property manager [...]
IWG revenue hit as Covid concerns drive hesitancy over office return November 2, 2021 Workspace provider IWG has taken a hit to revenue as rising Covid infections deterred some clients from ditching remote working. In its third quarter trading statement, IWG reported group revenue at £550.8m ($752.1m) in the three months ended September 30, down 0.3 per cent from the same period last year. Occupancy at its pre-2020 operations [...]
BP earnings spike after energy prices rocket November 2, 2021 BP has reported soaring earnings in its third quarter results after costs of oil and gas skyrocketed this year. The oil giant reported underlying replacement cost profit of $3.3 bn, compared with $2.8bn for the previous quarter. It credited this result to higher oil and gas realisations, higher refining availability and throughout “enabling the capture of [...]
BlackRock raises $673m for fund to invest in climate projects November 2, 2021 BlackRock has announced it has raised a target-beating $673m for an infrastructure fund to invest in climate-focused projects like renewable energy in emerging markets. The fund also has backing from the French, German and Japanese governments. The investment manager told Reuters it hoped the Climate Finance Partnership would show how to mobilize private capital in [...]
Publicans loaned £138m to own businesses in battle for survival November 1, 2021 Pub owners injected £138m in loans to their own businesses to keep them afloat during the pandemic. Private equity investment firm Growthdeck found that some 1,730 UK pubs and bar companies ran so short of cash last year that their directors had to make loans to them from their own personal resources. As hospitality venues [...]
Landsec to buy property rival U+I for £190m November 1, 2021 Property giant Landsec has announced it will buy the property regeneration firm U+I for £190m. Mark Allan, chief executive officer of Landsec, said the acquisition would mean a bolstered focus on developing “world-class mixed-use communities that inspire and create opportunity.” The 149-pence-per-share offer for U+I represented a premium of 73.3 per cent to the stock’s [...]
Celebrity details leaked after London jeweller hacked November 1, 2021 London-based jeweller Graff has been attacked by a ransomware gang, with cyberhackers stealing celebrity clients’ details. Russian group Conti – who are known for launching attacks on hospitals and government departments – are thought to have demanded millions of pounds in ransom. The group has already leaked around 69,000 confidential documents on the dark web, [...]
