Redrow hails record profit as founder bows out on a high February 6, 2019 Housebuilder Redrow hailed record half-year profits before tax this morning, striking a resilient tone despite fears of greater uncertainty over Britain's imminent departure from the EU and a “subdued” Christmas. The figures In Steve Morgan’s final trading statement as chairman, the FTSE 250 developer said that pre-tax profits rose five per cent to £185m in [...]
Barratt Developments builds profit in strong first half February 6, 2019 The UK’s largest housebuilder Barratt Developments boosted its profit before tax 19 per cent in the first half of its financial year. Barratt said its profit before tax stood at £408m in the six months to 31 January, with revenue growing seven per cent to £2.13bn and total completions rising four per cent to 7,622 [...]
Will Wirecard wave goodbye to the DAX? February 5, 2019 Questions are being asked about whether Wirecard AG deserves its generous valuation – and it’s newly won place in the DAX – following allegations of fraud. Munich-based fintech company Wirecard unseated Commerzbank – a stalwart of the DAX since 1988 – to become a member of the DAX in September 2018. The firm won its [...]
Odeon director Welch joins Hammerson board February 5, 2019 Shopping centre landlord Hammerson has appointed Odeon director Carol Welch to its board. The move, which comes as Hammerson embarks on a radical overhaul of its business, follows on from last week’s announcement that former Argos boss Terry Duddy was stepping down from the board in the wake of his new role at Debenhams as interim chairman. [...]
The trade war in your head? A look behind the US-China feud February 5, 2019 As the US-China talks resume this week, the spectre of global trade disintegration on looms ever larger. There is one month for Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to strike a deal before the 90-day ceasefire in tit-for-tat rhetoric expires. At stake is $200bn of Chinese exports to the US, which will otherwise see tariffs rise [...]
China’s success among western firms will depend on the desirability of the brand February 5, 2019 Not a week goes by when there isn’t a data print-out of China posting the weakest number since… well pick a year. Last Friday, for example, the Caixin manufacturing survey posted a second consecutive month of contraction and the lowest reading since 2016. The slowdown has triggered a set of 2019 growth downgrades from the analyst [...]
City Moves for 5 February – who’s switching jobs at eGym, Real Estate Management and BSI? February 5, 2019 Who’s on the move today? eGym Sir George W. Buckley, the former chief executive of 3M, is joining the Munich-based sports technology company eGym as its chairman. Founded in 2010 in Munich, eGym uses a combination of connected gym equipment and cloud-based software to provide a fully data- and software-driven gym experience. Sir George steered [...]
Jim Ratcliffe: Government is using ‘slippery’ manoeuvres to kill off British fracking February 4, 2019 The chairman of Britain’s biggest private company has accused the government of using “slippery back door manoeuvres” to kill off fracking in the UK. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the billionaire founder of Ineos, said the government is sticking to a plan which is “unworkable, unhelpful and playing politics with the country’s future”. Read more: Ineos hails 'game [...]
City Moves for 4 February – who’s switching jobs at Accel, BCLP and Zoopla? February 4, 2019 Who’s on the move today? Accel Accel, the leading global venture capital firm, today announces that Andrei Brasoveanu and Seth Pierrepont have both been named as partner, strengthening Accel’s team in London. Andrei is promoted to partner from his previous role as principal at Accel and will remain focused on investments in enterprise software, cloud [...]
Interim Debenhams chair shortlisted for Moss Bros role February 1, 2019 The interim chair of Debenhams could be in line for the role of chair at suit retailer Moss Bros. According to Sky News, Terry Duddy has been shortlisted as a potential successor to current Moss Bros chair Debbie Hewitt, who will step down from her role later this year. Duddy took on the chairman role [...]