S&U: Motor finance lender urges Labour to change ‘restrictive’ regulation after profit warning August 12, 2024 Specialist lender S&U has urged the new Labour government to change the UK's "restrictive and constantly changing" regulatory regime after warning that actions by the City watchdog would have a "significant impact" on its motor finance business' profits.
Marshalls: Revenue at building supplier drops but group ‘cautiously optimistic’ about the future August 12, 2024 Housing industry supplier Marshalls has reported a mixed set of results for the first half of the year due to what management called “weak end markets.” However, despite weakness in the construction market over the past year, the company said it was “cautiously optimistic” about the future. Marshalls announced revenue of £306.7m in the half-year [...]
‘Pent-up demand’ drives jump in London prime property sales August 12, 2024 London’s super-prime market seems to following a similar track to the general market: optimism is cautiously increasing as mortgages start to come down following the Bank of England’s rate cut. The number of exchanges in London in June and July was 8.4 per cent above the five-year average, according to Knight Frank. It was a [...]
Total Fitness is turning its back on the South after recovering from the brink of collapse August 10, 2024 Gym chain Total Fitness is already a well-established name in the North of England with 15 “superclubs” peppered across the region. But despite her ambitious goal of quadrupling the Cheshire-based company’s portfolio in the next five years, CEO Sophie Lawler has zero interest in expanding into the South. It’s a bold move as, according to [...]
Has the UK housing market turned a corner as the Bank of England cut interest rates? August 9, 2024 Quiet optimism is the mood of the day in the housing market, as house prices firmly ticked up in July. Both the Nationwide and Halifax house price indices posted accelerating house price growth. Nationwide reported a 0.3 per cent month on month increase and Halifax pointed to a stronger 0.8 per cent month on month [...]
Electric Guitar: Digital marketer buys data analytics firm set up by its chief August 9, 2024 Digital marketing and advertising company Electric Guitar will acquire software solutions provider Mymyne, previously set up by its chief executive. Mymyne was set up in 2019 by Electric Guitar’s chief executive, John Regan, to develop and commercialise data-related software services, with swoop is being viewed as a sign that the marketing world is moving towards [...]
Assura: Group snaps up 14 private hospitals as firm gears up for Labour spending spree August 8, 2024 Healthcare property giant Assura has announced a £500m acquisition of a UK private hospital portfolio from Canadian group Northwest Healthcare Properties. The move comes following Labour’s commitment to use more private healthcare providers to help clear the NHS treatment backlog. The takeover includes 14 locations averaging 36 registered beds per hospital and is predominantly based [...]
Savills hails ‘signs of market recovery’ as half-year sales and profit rise August 8, 2024 Sales and profit increased at estate agent Savills in the first half of 2024 as both commercial and residential markets begin to show signs of recovery. The FTSE 250-listed firm has reported a five per cent rise in its revenue, from £1.011bn to £1.063bn, in the six months ended June 30. Its underlying pre-tax profit [...]
Hermes Pacific exits London Stock Exchange’s AIM market citing ‘undervalued’ shares August 8, 2024 Investment firm Hermes Pacific has become the latest company to exit the London Stock Exchange with bosses saying they believe its shares are undervalued. The firm, which listed on London’s junior AIM market in 2013, has seen its share prices drop month-on-month for the past year from 147 pence on September 30, 2023, to 52 [...]
Shawbrook: Underlying profit dips as challenger bank’s margins narrow August 8, 2024 Challenger bank Shawbrook has reported a dip in underlying profit for the first half of 2024 as looming interest rate cuts from the Bank of England narrowed its lending margins.