Flutter shares tumble after World Cup wins knock profit March 2, 2023 The gambling business behind Paddy Power and Betfair saw its shares tumble almost five per cent, after the company missed 2022 earning estimates due to customers winning bets during the Fifa World Cup. Flutter Entertainment, which also owns Sky Betting and Gaming, was predicted earlier this year by Bloomberg analysts to gain EBITDA of £1.7bn [...]
National Express share price soars as rail strikes help boost annual profits March 2, 2023 The recent wave of train strikes helped National Express more than triple annual profits as passengers switched to buses and coaches to avoid rail disruption. Shares in National Express soared 13 per cent on Thursday as the group reported underlying pre-tax profits of £145.9m, up from £39.7m in 2021, with annual revenues surpassing pre-pandemic levels [...]
UK trade data market not working ‘as it should’ as investors pay the cost of lack of competition, says FCA March 2, 2023 A new study from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found competition in the wholesale data market is “not working as well as it should”, leading to extra costs for investors and savers. Trading data includes information on the prices and volumes of financial products traded and supplied by venues such as stock exchanges. The [...]
Lloyd’s of London member Beazley’s profits plummet 48 per cent as interest rate hikes dent portfolio March 2, 2023 Shares in specialist insurer Beazley today fell almost nine per cent after the firm told investors its profits had plummeted in 2022 due to a sharp drop in income from its investment portfolio. The insurer said its overall pre-tax profits fell 48 per cent in the year ending in December 2022 to $191m, as rising [...]
Flutter: US bet pays off as gambling firm revenues rack up to £7.6bn March 2, 2023 The gambling business behind Paddy Power and Betfair saw its sales soar this year as the group gained huge momentum in the US. Flutter Entertainment said it was continuing to go from “strength to strength” in the US market as it saw revenues reach £2.6bn in the year ending 2022. The London-listed group which operates [...]
Metro Bank loss narrows to £70.7m as bank vows to put compliance issues behind it March 2, 2023 Higher interest rates helped Metro Bank narrow its loss for the year as the bank attempts to put a series of compliance missteps behind it. Metro Bank’s pretax loss narrowed to £70.7m in 2022, as the bank saw revenue jump 31 per cent on the back of higher interest rates. The bank noted it was [...]
The Square Mile and Me: JM Finn’s Hugo Bedford on crayfish hi-jinks, David Mayhew and hopes for 2023 March 2, 2023 Every week we ask the City’s highest flyers what they’ve learnt in the Square Mile – and what fun they had climbing the ladder. This week, it’s wealth manager JM Finn’s chief executive Hugo Bedford – on his early days in the Square Mile, why he admires David Mayhew and one particularly raucous lunch What [...]
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey warns interest rates may have to rise again to tackle inflation March 1, 2023 Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey has today warned interest rates may need to rise even higher to tame inflation, signalling yet more pain is in store for families and businesses. Speaking at a conference on the cost of living crisis in London, Bailey, 63, said if the Bank does “too little with [...]
Savings accounts: Banks under fire as MPs demand to know why interest rate rises have not been passed on to savers March 1, 2023 MPs have asked further questions of banks’ savings rate as pressure increases on the UK’s major high street lenders to pass on higher interest rates to consumers. In a letter to the heads of four of the UK’s largest banks, chair of the Treasury Committee Harriet Baldwin asked banks why their savings rates remain lower [...]
Co-operative Bank profit surges to £132.6m as CEO Slape confirms bank still looking at acquisition targets March 1, 2023 The Co-operative Bank recorded a big increase in pretax profit in its final year results thanks to higher interest rates as CEO Nick Slape confirmed the bank was still scanning the market for acquisition targets. . Across 2022 as a whole, pretax profit increased to £132.6m up from £31.1m last year. This was primarily a [...]