Spire Healthcare on track for 2020 targets March 5, 2020 Spire Healthcare remains on track to meet targets for 2020 after it swung back into profit last year. Revenue increased 5.3 per cent from £931.1m in 2018 to £980m for the year ended 2019. Instead of 2018’s £5.6m loss, profit before tax was £9.6m. Operating profit also jumped 32.8 per cent from £71.1m to £94.4m [...]
Number of UK coronavirus cases hits 115, with 25 in London March 5, 2020 UK coronavirus cases rose again today from 85 to 115, with London counting 25 Covid-19 infections. Included in today’s figures were 25 new cases in England, and 30 new cases since yesterday’s total. “All are being investigated and contact tracing has begun,” the Department of Health tweeted. A total of 18,083 people in the UK [...]
Aung San Suu Kyi stripped of City of London award March 5, 2020 De-facto Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been stripped of a City of London Corporation award for failing to condemn the ethnic cleansing of her country’s Rohingya Muslim population. The local authority stripped her of its Honorary Freedom award today in a Court of Common Council hearing, for her “close association” with the Myanmar [...]
Flybe can’t blame Coronavirus for its long term failings March 5, 2020 In the early hours of this morning, Coronavirus claimed its first airline as Flybe finally bit the dust. Just as with the thousands of human victims worldwide, it is the vulnerable who are most at risk, and this was no different. They failed because they encountered multiple crises, each amplified by their failure to mitigate the [...]
Three boss Dave Dyson steps down after nine years March 5, 2020 Mobile operator Three today announced that chief executive Dave Dyson will step down after nine years at the helm. Dyson, who is stepping down for personal reasons, is the longest-serving boss of a UK telecoms firm. He will be replaced by Robert Finnegan, who is currently chief executive of the company’s Irish business. Finnegan will [...]
Gresham House acquires Trade Risks amid strong 2019 performance March 5, 2020 Gresham House announced the acquisition of Trade Risks as it reported a double digit rise in its assets under management. The figures Gresham House reported a 23 per cent increase in assets under management from £2.3bn to £2.8bn. Total income rose 124 per cent from £14.7m to £32.9m, while adjusted operating profit rose 237 per [...]
Sky and Virgin Media down: Outages leave customers across UK without broadband March 5, 2020 Sky and Virgin Media are down across the country, leaving customers without broadband. The issue has affected more than 60 towns and cities in the South East, which both companies said had been caused by a “fibre break”. Customers took to Twitter to complain about the issue throughout the day using the hashtag Virgin Media [...]
Axminster Carpets bought out of administration March 5, 2020 Axminster Carpets has been rescued after a group of private investors, including the previous owner, bought it out of administration. The business, which entered administration on 19 February, has been bought by ACL Carpets – a consortium of investors including the Dutfield family that previously owned the firm. The group is expected to be renamed [...]
Long awaited audit reforms could start this year, says audit watchdog boss March 5, 2020 The long-promised reform of the UK audit sector could start this year with voluntary changes by the Big Four accounting firms, the audit watchdog said today. The collapse of outsourcer Carillion in 2018 prompted three reviews of the sector and two years on there have been calls from MPs and industry figures to speed up [...]
Brexit trade talks: Michel Barnier cites ‘serious differences’ between EU and UK stances March 5, 2020 The EU’s chief negotiator has warned of “very serious divergence” between Britain and Brussels over the future relationship, following the first round of post-Brexit trade talks. Michel Barnier said he was confident a deal could be struck between the two sides, saying “an agreement is possible, even if it is difficult”. But he warned there [...]
