Oleg Tinkov reveals an interest in the UK, what he thinks about Apple and has some advice for fintech start-ups October 26, 2016 The billionaire businessman behind one Russia’s largest banks has revealed his interest in setting up in the UK. Although listed on the London Stock Exchange, Tinkoff Bank is Russian-focussed and the second largest credit card issuer in the country. It was set up in 2006 by its flamboyant chairman, Oleg Tinkov, and is Russia’s sole [...]
Bunzl shares fall after revealing flat like-for-like trading October 26, 2016 Bunzl's share price fell over 1.5 per cent today after revealing that third quarter underlying revenues were at a similar level to last year. The outsourcing and distribution group said that overall revenue was up by seven per cent. But four per cent of this was attributable to new business purchases and three per cent was as a result [...]
The government’s pension freedoms were less popular last quarter as withdrawals fell October 26, 2016 Retirees have taken £7.6bn from their savings since reforms were introduced in April 2015, the Treasury revealed today – but the pace of withdrawals is falling. The amount withdrawn during the third quarter of 2016 dipped to £1.5bn, down from £1.8bn in the previous three months. One of George Osborne's flagship pension reforms announced just over 18 months [...]
Ofcom fines Vodafone £4.6m for multiple service failings and taking customers’ money without providing a service October 26, 2016 Regulators have slapped Vodafone with a £4.6m fine for "serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules" across two key investigations. Ofcom said that the telecoms giant failed to credit over 10,000 customers' accounts after they paid top-ups on pay-as-you-go contracts. Over a 17-month period, Vodafone customers missed out on £150,000 of money that should have been [...]
Apple display supplier LG Display says it expects a strong final quarter, boosted by shipments to key customer October 26, 2016 LG Display, the South Korean firm that supplies components to Apple, said that it expects strong final quarter earnings due to the growth in shipments to a key customer. The firm said that the revenue boost would be generated from sales of medium to small-sized panels. Read more: Apple posts first annual revenue drop for over a decade [...]
Criminal activity in connection with loosening of pension restrictions was worse than expected October 25, 2016 The level of fraud following the freeing-up of pension reforms was a lot higher than previously thought according to data from City of London Police. George Osborne's flagship policy to give pensioners greater freedoms – including allowing them to take a lump sum out of their pension – provided criminals a new opportunity to con people out of their money. Read more: Government bins plans [...]
Carpetright’s share price is slightly up despite saying that the fall in the pound is squeezing margins October 25, 2016 Carpetright's share price nosed-up around one per cent today despite saying that the weakened pound is impacting profitability across its 429 UK stores. Updating the market on half-year performance, the Purfleet-based company said costs had increased as a result of sterling's post-Brexit slump and that gross profit margins – the excess that it can sell items over their cost [...]
The Brexit vote fails to perturb Shoe Zone as its share price flies October 25, 2016 Discount retailer Shoe Zone's share price sprung over 15 per cent this morning after announcing that its cost-cutting measures had put it on track for a small increase in annual profits. In its pre-close trading statement, Shoe Zone said that it expects revenue for the year to be down by £6.8m at £160m, although this is primarily [...]
Whitbread’s share price falls as half-year results fail to impress October 25, 2016 Whitbread's penchant for the finer stuff failed to excite the market as its share price fell nearly three per cent after unveiling its half year numbers. The figures Total revenues increased by 8.1 per cent to £1.6bn, although like-for-like growth was up by a more modest 1.9 per cent. The group's Premier Inn hotel network generated just [...]
3i sells debt business as part of strategic focus away from credit October 25, 2016 Alternative asset manager Investcorp has snapped up venture capital group 3i's global credit business for £222m. Purchasing 3i Debt Management (3iDM), a business with $12bn of assets under management, will almost double Investcorp's portfolio. Simon Borrows, the chief exec of 3i explained that although the debt management business provided strong cash flows, strategically it was no longer the best fit for the group. [...]
