TSB backs Met with £200,000 fund to fight fraud in London after last year’s IT chaos January 9, 2019 Bank TSB has invested £200,000 in a partnership with the Metropolitan Police to fight fraud and cybercrime. The bank, which suffered a string of IT outages last year that led to the exit of its chief executive Paul Pester, said the scheme was aimed at fraud prevention and enforcement. TSB was hit by extreme levels [...]
DUP slams government’s wooing attempts in advance of Brexit deal vote January 9, 2019 A spokesman for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has slammed government proposals intended to get the support of the Northern Irish party for the Brexit deal as “fairly meaningless”. Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington, a key ally of Prime Minister Theresa May, had announced a series of pledges to try and sell the [...]
Softcat is top dog after trading update sends shares soaring January 9, 2019 Softcat shares rocketed today after the IT infrastructure provider said it was materially ahead of expectations at this stage of the year. Shares jumped 20 per cent this morning to 707p following the news. Softcat said trading had continued to be strong since its last update on 28 November. Ahead of its interim results on 31 [...]
Sales slip at Topps Tiles but boss hails robust result in tough retail climate January 9, 2019 Sales at Topps Tiles slipped 1.4 per cent in the 13 weeks to 29 December compared to the same period last year, the tile retailer said today. Despite the sales decrease its chief executive Matthew Williams hailed Topps' robust performance. “Against a challenging market backdrop and a strong period of performance in the prior year [...]
Regal results for Majestic Wine despite UK retail headwinds January 9, 2019 Majestic Wine uncorked 6.8 per cent revenue growth over the Christmas period but warned that retail trading conditions remain tough. The wine retailer, which said nearly a third of its sales come around Christmas, also boosted gross profit growth to 8.2 per cent. It said it remains on track to deliver full-year profit figures that are “broadly [...]
UK tipped to remain attractive location for M&A in 2019 after deal value surged in 2018 January 9, 2019 The UK has been tipped to remain one of the most popular locations for M&A in 2019 after the value of deals with a UK target in 2018 surged 40 per cent to £413bn. Research published today by Willis Towers Watson and Cass Business School showed that globally 2018 was the worst year for shareholder [...]
Salary inflation hits 53-month high in London as shortage of EU candidates bites January 9, 2019 Salary inflation is at a 53 month high in London because of a shortage of EU candidates due to Brexit and an uncertain economic background leading to reluctance among workers to switch jobs. According to a survey published today by audit firm KPMG and the Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) and compiled by IHS Markit, [...]
US insurer Metlife appoints new boss after stock slumps following spin-off January 8, 2019 US insurer Metlife today appointed one of its senior employees as chief executive to take over from the current holder of the role Steve Kandarian. Michel Khalaf, the head of the company’s US and Europe, Middle East and Africa business, will take the reins from 1 May when Kandarian retires. Kandarian has led Metlife for eight [...]
US legal business Elevate acquires UK new law company Halebury as it targets London float January 8, 2019 US legal business Elevate has today announced it has acquired UK new law business Halebury as it continues expansion ahead of a possible London float. Elevate, which has been backed by Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital, brands itself as a “law company” and provides services to in-house legal departments at companies such as Oracle and Facebook. [...]
First listed law firm Gateley delivers strong results as it looks for further acquisitions January 8, 2019 Listed law firm Gateley has boosted revenue 20 per cent and profit 18 per cent in the six months to 31 October. The Birmingham-headquartered firm, which became the first UK law firm to go public when it floated in 2015, delivered revenue of £46.4m and profit before tax of £5m for the period. Gateley's share price [...]
