Watkin Jones: Shares in property developer soar on return to profit January 23, 2025 Shares in Watkin Jones soared more than 13 per cent on Thursday after the property developer swung to profit in 2024. The London-listed firm reported £9.2m in pre-tax profit for the year ended September, up from a £2.9m loss the year prior. Basic earnings per share also swung to 3.5p, up from a loss of [...]
Chapel Down: Off-trade issues pull England’s biggest winemaker down January 23, 2025 Sales at England’s biggest winemaker, Chapel Down, fell in 2024 due to “one-off” issues in the first half of the year, but the company has still reported net sales revenue in line with guidance. Chapel Down’s share price rose more than two per cent in early trades. Sales of sparkling wine, which accounts for more [...]
Workspace: London office provider struggles with customer churn January 23, 2025 Workspace’s problem with customer churn has continued to hit the London-focused firm, with occupancy in its rented offices reducing by 1.3 per cent during last quarter to 86.1 per cent. The flexible office provider completed 273 new lettings over the last quarter, for a total rental value of £6m, it said in a trading update [...]
Revolution Beauty expects sales to fall by a quarter in blow to turnaround plans January 23, 2025 Revolution Beauty expects sales to fall by around a quarter in 2025 in a blow to the troubled cosmetics firms’ turnaround plans. The London-listed group said it had experienced some sales softness in its digital channels and an element of de-stocking from US retailers in December. It has also pushed back the launch of certain [...]
Weak UK sales pull Primark down despite international growth January 23, 2025 Lower sales in the UK and Ireland pulled Primark’s performance down in the last quarter of 2024 despite double-digit growth in countries like Spain, Portugal and the US. Primark’s parent company ABF Foods told markets this morning that sales in the UK and Ireland, which account for approximately 45 per cent of its market, declined [...]
IG Group extends share buybacks after Freetrade acquisition January 23, 2025 IG Group is set to spend £50m more on share buybacks following its acquisition of trading app Freetrade. In the firm’s six month results to 30 November, the FTSE 250 firm said it would be extending its previous share buyback programme from £150m to £200m. “It is pleasing to show how we can both invest [...]
UK economy: Consumers catch ‘January blues’ as confidence slumps January 23, 2025 Confidence in the health of the economy fell to its lowest level since the BRC started collecting data on the topic in March 2024.
‘It’s a clear message’: Reeves’ CMA scalp fires warning to regulators January 23, 2025 The government has sent a “clear message” to UK regulators by ousting the chair of competition watchdog, in what lawyers described as the “most overtly political” regulatory intervention of recent years. Marcus Bokkerink, who joined the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2022, was forced out of his role due to a “different approach” on [...]
Courtroom challenges to planning decisions to be limited, No10 announce January 23, 2025 Courtroom challenges to infrastructure planning decisions are set to be limited, No10 has announced in what they framed as a bid for growth. Attempts to challenge major infrastructure schemes via the judicial system, such as nuclear plants, train lines and windfarms, will be restricted, Sir Keir Starmer has confirmed. The Prime Minister said the measure, [...]
Rachel Reeves: UK won’t be Trump tariff target due to trade deficit January 22, 2025 Rachel Reeves has argued that the UK won’t be a target for Trump’s trade tariffs because we have a “trade deficit” with the US. The Chancellor argued President Donald Trump was “concerned about the trade surpluses” with various countries around the world, but stressed that was “not the case” with the UK. It comes after [...]
