RFU and Premiership Rugby sign landmark deal to shape future of game September 4, 2024 Rugby Football Union chief executive Bill Sweeney hailed a “significant milestone” in the English game on Wednesday as the national governing body, Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players Association yesterday agreed a new eight-year Professional Game Partnership. The swathes of changes to the English game will see the national coach Steve Borthwick given dominion over [...]
UK set to be the ‘standout performer’ among major economies September 4, 2024 Analysts at Panmure Liberum think the UK will be the “standout performer” among major economies in the months to come with firms set to benefit from strengthening domestic demand. In a note published this morning, the City brokerage discussed its early cycle indicator (ECI), a tool for predicting how economies are likely to perform over [...]
Services firms benefit from post-election stability and rosy economic outlook September 4, 2024 The survey put activity in the services sector at its fastest pace since April, extending the current period of growth to ten months.
Direct Line returns to profit but customers flee after firm hikes insurance prices September 4, 2024 Direct Line's operating profit undershot expectations for the first half of 2024 as the firm shed more than a quarter of a million motor insurance customers following price hikes.
Haven and Warner Hotels owner slips into the red after Butlin’s sale September 4, 2024 The group behind Haven holiday parks and Warner Leisure Hotels fell into the red after the sale of Butlin’s, it has been revealed. Bourne Leisure, which is owned by investment giant Blackstone, has reported a pre-tax loss of £166.5m for 2023, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House. The loss comes after the group reported [...]
Gulf Marine Services posts fall in net profit as it slashes debt September 4, 2024 Gulf Marine Services (GMS) posted a hefty dent in net profit in its half-year results despite a sizeable rise in revenue, as the highly levered business continues to focus on debt reduction. The London-listed oil services provider, which operates self-propelled and elevating support vessels for the oil sector out of the United Arab Emirates, saw [...]
Barratt: Profit halves at housebuilder but firm optimistic after Redrow deal September 4, 2024 Housebuilder Barratt reported a halving in profit and drop in completions amid a challenging housing market, but has said it is optimistic about the future. Barratt said its total home completions in the year ended 30 June reached 14,004, down 18.6 per cent from 17,206 in 2023 but at the upper end of the company’s [...]
Oasis ticket prices are none of the government’s business September 4, 2024 Labour’s plans to intervene in the market for Oasis tickets betray a basic ignorance of the principles of supply and demand, says James Price So, Sally can wait – and wait and wait online for Oasis tickets. Or Taylor Swift, or whatever a Charli XCX is. That’s what happens when there is lots of demand [...]
True state of the public finances continues to divide opinion September 3, 2024 The true state of Labour’s fiscal inheritance continues to divide opinion. Over the first few weeks in office, the new government has been painting a very gloomy picture of the state of the public finances. The doom-mongering reached new heights last week after Sir Keir Starmer argued the state of the public finances were “worse [...]
City deals advisers gear up for rebound after election pushed M&A to four year low September 3, 2024 The City’s deals advisers are gearing up for a rebound in activity in the closing months of the year after election uncertainty pushed mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to a four-year low in June, according to fresh figures today. The value of total deals involving UK firms, as either targets or buyers, slumped to £11.8bn in [...]