Major multi-national fraud probe into Airbus could settle this year May 23, 2019 Airbus could reach a settlement with British, French and US authorities in a long-running fraud investigation as soon as this year, sources with knowledge of the case told City A.M. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened an investigation into Airbus’ use of third party consultants to win international aircraft orders in August 2016. French [...]
Forex trading director spent client money on luxury lifestyle, court finds May 22, 2019 The High Court has ordered a forex trading company and its director to pay a £917,231 fine after it found investors were scammed and the proceeds spent on luxury goods and cryptocurrencies. The High Court declared that Xcore Capital and its director Jonathan Chitty, 27, from Surrey, had carried on an unauthorised investment scheme which [...]
Pret A Manger eats Eat but vows to go veggie in new stores May 22, 2019 Sandwich chain Pret A Manger said today it has agreed to buy rival British chain Eat. Pret plans to convert as many of Eat’s shops as possible to Pret stores serving vegetarian food in response to what it said was a growing consumer demand for more vegan and vegetarian options on the high street. Pret’s chief [...]
Four key things we learned from Marks & Spencer’s results May 22, 2019 There were not expectations of a strong set of results from Marks & Spencer today. The profit drop was expected and profit before tax of £532m was actually in the higher end of the forecast range. However, a share price decline of four per cent shows that these were still a disappointing set of results for investors. [...]
Royal Mail to slash dividend 40 per cent as profit drops by a third May 22, 2019 Royal Mail said today it will cut its dividend 40 per cent from next year as it earmarks extra cash to invest in the business. The figures The company today announced a drop in operating profit of 34 per cent. It said operating profit after transformation costs for the 52 weeks ended March 2019 was [...]
Marks & Spencer shares fall as profits decimated amid restructuring efforts May 22, 2019 Profit before tax at retailer Marks & Spencer fell nearly ten per cent in the last financial year, it said today as it announced plans to close 85 stores. The figures M&S said profit before tax for the year to 31 March was £532.2m, down 9.9 per cent from £580.9m the previous year. Revenue fell [...]
Watches of Switzerland targets £660m London listing May 21, 2019 Luxury retailer Watches of Switzerland said today it is targeting a London float that could hit a valuation of £660m. The company sells luxury watch brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, Cartier and Hublot. Read more: Jaguar sues watchmaker Christopher Ward over D-Type watches It has 125 shops in the UK and 21 in the [...]
Profits slip at Entertainment One after £61m write down May 21, 2019 Entertainment One said today that its profit before tax fell 43 per cent to £37m after one-off charges. The company behind children's TV favourite Peppa Pig said adjusted profit before tax was up 20 per cent at £156m from £130m. It said underlying earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation was up 21 per cent at [...]
Shaftesbury boosts West End property revenue as showdown with major shareholder looms May 21, 2019 West End landlord Shaftesbury’s war of words with its largest shareholder hotted up today as it announced a 5.2 per cent revenue boost in its first-half results. The company is facing a potential £10m claim from its largest investor – Hong Kong billionaire Samuel Tak Lee. Lee, who owns approximately 26 per cent of the [...]
Profit slips nearly 20 per cent at Topps Tiles in first half May 21, 2019 Topps Tiles said profit before tax fell nearly 20 per cent in the first half of its financial year. The specialist tile retailer said revenue slipped 0.2 per cent to £110.3m and profit before tax fell 18.8 per cent to £5.2m. Basic earnings per share fell 24 per cent to 2.03p. Read more: Topps Tiles recovers [...]
