Philips announces €1.5bn share buyback after sales boost January 29, 2019 Technology company Philips today said it boosted like-for-like sales five per cent last year to €18.1bn (£15.7bn). The Amsterdam-headquartered technology company said it also grew sales five per cent in the fourth quarter to €5.6bn. The company said its adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (Ebita) improved 100 basis points to 13.1 per cent [...]
Profit slips at housebuilder Crest Nicholson with London market blamed for ‘challenging year’ January 29, 2019 Profit before tax fell 15 per cent at housebuilder Crest Nicholson last year with its chief executive blaming Brexit and slower demand in London. In the year to 31 October pre-tax profit was £176.4m, compared to £207m the year previously, while operating profit margin fell from 20.3 per cent to 16.7 per cent. Chief executive [...]
London snow: TfL ‘working around the clock’ to avoid travel disruption January 28, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has outlined “well-rehearsed” procedures to “keep the capital moving” ahead of expected snowfall in London and the south-east from tomorrow night. It comes as the Met Office issues a yellow weather warning for “possibly heavy” snow developing overnight on Tuesday and into Wednesday, with accumulations of up to 3cm expected across [...]
Facebook is set to merge messaging services across Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger January 25, 2019 Facebook is planning to streamline its messaging services by integrating Whatsapp, Instagram and Facebook messenger. All three will remain separate apps, but underneath the surface they will all be inter-linked, allowing messages to travel between services, according to a report in the New York Times. The paper claims it is the personal project of the [...]
Jardine Matheson briefly loses $41bn in value following mystery trade January 24, 2019 Hong Kong-British conglomerate Jardine Matheson briefly lost $41bn (£31.5bn) in its share value today with the company blaming an electronic trading error. Jardine Matheson’s Singapore-listed shares traded down 83 per cent before rebounding, in what was originally suspected to be a so-called fat-finger trade. Around 167,500 shares in the company traded at $10.99 versus Wednesday’s [...]
Struggling retailer Paperchase exploring sale or store closures January 24, 2019 The owner of stationery and greeting card chain Paperchase is exploring a possible sale as its feels out landlords about a potential company voluntary arrangement (CVA). According to Sky News, Paperchase’s adviser KPMG has been contacting potential buyers this week about a deal which could include a pre-pack administration. The company is also sounding out [...]
Shares plunge in listed law firm Gordon Dadds following £10m placing January 24, 2019 Shares in listed law firm Gordon Dadds plunged nearly 25 per cent today after it announced a £10m share placing. The firm said the accelerated bookbuild was successful and oversubscribed, conditional on the passing of a placing resolution at a general meeting and the admission of the shares to the Aim market. The firm’s share price [...]
Sir Philip Green accuses Telegraph of colluding with Lord Hain in his naming in harassment story and bids to uncovers its sources January 23, 2019 Retail mogul Sir Philip Green is set for a court battle with the Daily Telegraph in an attempt to uncover the newspaper’s sources for its front page story alleging harassment by an unnamed businessman. Arcadia’s lawyers were granted an interim injunction preventing the naming of Green and Arcadia as the subjects of the piece. However, [...]
The earl-y bird catches the worm: City law firm hires aristocratic new partner January 23, 2019 Law firm Michelmores announced today it had hired the Earl of Devon as a partner in its disputes team. Charles Courtenay, the 19th Earl of Devon, joins the firm from US legal giant Latham & Watkins – the second largest law firm in the world by revenue. Although Courtenay will be based in Michelmores’ London [...]
Sony confirms plans to shift European headquarters to Amsterdam in Brexit move January 23, 2019 Sony has moved its European headquarters to Amsterdam to safeguard itself from possible disruption from Brexit. The Japanese tech firm confirmed the move last night. Sony said it had established a new legal entity in the Netherlands which it will merge its UK-based business into. In a statement Sony said: “In this way we can [...]
