B&Q owner Kingfisher expects £175m profit boost due to Covid-19 support and cost savings November 19, 2020 B&Q owner Kingfisher expects to report an extra £175m profit for the year due to temporary cost savings, including government Covid-19 support measures. The London-listed DIY firm said today that sales soared 17.6 per cent to £3.5bn in the third quarter due to a surge in people beginning home improvement projects during the pandemic. Kingfisher [...]
What’s in store for the airline industry this winter? October 30, 2020 Although every industry has suffered due to the coronavirus pandemic, few have been as hard hit as the world’s airlines. At the beginning of the year, the idea of a world without global air travel was for most people a relic of a long-forgotten past, but seven months of extreme turbulence have flipped that notion [...]
Coppa Club owner Various Eateries circles struggling competitors September 10, 2020 Various Eateries, the owner of restaurant chains Strada and Coppa Club, is planning to raise £25m through an AIM listing as it seeks to buy competitors that have fallen victim to the coronavirus crisis. The firm, which was founded by Hugh Osmond, who led the rapid expansion of Pizza Express, is aiming to expand by [...]
ITV profit halves during pandemic amid ‘most challenging period in history’ August 6, 2020 ITV has reported a 50 per cent slump in earnings for the six months to 30 June, as the public service broadcaster warned of the “significant impact” of the pandemic, which it said presented “one of the most challenging times in the history of ITV”. The results Adjusted earnings before tax, amortization and depreciation (Ebitda) [...]
Greggs swings to £65m loss during coronavirus crisis July 28, 2020 Greggs swung to a loss of more than £65m for the six months to 27 June after Brits tried their own hand at baking during lockdown, it revealed today. The results Greggs swung to a pre-tax loss of £65.2m, down from a profit of £36.7m in the same period last year. Total sales for the [...]
‘Zombie’ firms set to fail as pandemic leaves 527,000 businesses on cliff-edge July 24, 2020 A record 527,000 businesses were in significant financial distress at the end of June, an increase of 33,000 since the beginning of the year. It represents a seven per cent increase since the start of the year, and nine per cent year-on-year, according to new research from corporate restructuring firm Begbies Traynor. While the coronavirus [...]
Stagecoach shares surge despite profit nosedive amid pandemic July 22, 2020 Stagecoach’s shares shot up in early trading today despite revealing a staggering 60 per cent plunge in annual profit in part due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The bus operator’s shares surged 10.8 per cent to 55.9p as large slumps in revenue and profit for its latest financial year were not as bad [...]
Begbies Traynor hails ‘strong financial performance’ as revenue surges July 21, 2020 Corporate restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor hailed a year of “strong financial performance” as revenue rose 17 per cent. Shares in the AIM-listed firm rose 0.6 per cent as markets opened. The figures For the full year, Begbies Traynor said that revenue rose from £60.1m to £70.5m, an increase of 17 per cent. However, profit before [...]
More than 5,000 retail jobs at risk as pandemic forces John Lewis and Boots to restructure July 9, 2020 More than 5,000 high street jobs could be lost as two UK retail giants announced store closures today after the coronavirus pandemic forced John Lewis and Boots to urgently restructure their businesses. John Lewis has decided not to reopen eight stores after the coronavirus lockdown, saying the sites were struggling before the pandemic. The proposed [...]
Wigan Athletic football club enters administration amid ‘significant impact’ of coronavirus pandemic July 1, 2020 Wigan Athletic has entered administration following the “significant impact” of the coronavirus pandemic on the football club’s finances. Paul Stanley, Gerald Krasner and Dean Watson from Begbies Traynor have been appointed as joint administrators, the Championship team said in a statement. Krasner said: “Our immediate objectives are to ensure the club completes all its fixtures [...]