Auto Trader share price rises as profits jump June 19, 2015 Shares in newly-listed Auto Trader opened 2.7 per cent higher at 316.25p as its full-year results since its IPO suggested car buyers are increasingly internet-savvy. The figures Revenues rose eight per cent to £255.9m in the year to the end of March, Auto Trader said this morning, while operating profits jumped 35 per cent to [...]
Keith Skeoch to step up as David Nish quits as chief executive of Standard Life June 19, 2015 David Nish will step down as chief executive of Standard Life in August after six years in the role, the savings giant said today. He'll be replaced by Keith Skeoch, currently chief executive of Standard Life Investments. Sir Gerry Grimstone, Standard Life's chairman, said Nish had "shown great leadership over the last six years, and [...]
Google could make joint bid for Tesco customer data unit Dunnhumby June 18, 2015 Google could soon be partnering with private equity fund Permira to make a joint bid for Tesco’s customer data business. The two firms are in talks to make a bid for Tesco’s data wing, Dunnhumby, which gathers and analyses data from about 1bn shoppers across the world, according to reports from Sky News and Reuters last [...]
Government hires Goldman to advise on sales of bank shares June 18, 2015 Goldman Sachs will advise the government on the sale of its remaining stakes in Britain’s banks. Goldman was hired as the privatisation adviser to UK Financial Investments (UKFI), a holding company tasked with managing the taxpayer stakes in businesses across the economy, Sky News first reported last night. Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne [...]
Wind energy subsidies will end next April June 18, 2015 The government has moved forward the end date for onshore wind energy subsidies, it revealed yesterday. The Department of Energy and Climate Change will close the renewables obligation to new onshore wind generating stations from 1 April 2016. The Conservatives had pledged to stop the subsidies in their manifesto ahead of the General Election, however [...]
William Hill’s finance chief Neil Cooper trades in horseracing for housebuilding at Barratt Developments June 18, 2015 Bookmaker William Hill yesterday said that its group finance director Neil Cooper is leaving after five years to join Barratt Developments. Cooper is going back to his housebuilding roots, having previously held the role of finance director at Bovis Homes before joining William Hill. His contract has a 12 month notice period, but his actual [...]
FTSE rises after a rally in metals boosts miners – London Report June 18, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index ended higher yesterday after slipping to a five-month low earlier in the session, with a strong bounce in miners and a rally in US equities helping the broader market. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index finished 0.4 per cent higher at 6,707.88 points. It earlier fell to 6,625.16, its lowest since late [...]
Walkie Talkie to smash City office records as top floor goes under offer June 18, 2015 The top floor of the City's towering 20 Fenchurch Street – nicknamed the Walkie Talkie – is believed to have smashed new rental records, after it went under offer to a mystery firm, City A.M. can reveal. Read more: A storey-by-storey breakdown of everything in the Shard The highest rent achieved in the [...]
RBS plans extra £150m a year spend on ailing IT systems after glitch affecting 600,000 payments at RBS, Natwest, Ulster Bank and Coutts June 18, 2015 Royal Bank of Scotland will spend another £150m a year on its ailing computer systems which this week caused havoc for RBS, Natwest and Ulster Bank customers after a glitch resulted in more than half a million missing payments. The bank's admin chief Simon McNamara today promised £150m of extra spending to make the bank's systems more [...]
MRSA superbug found in pork sold by Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda and Co-operative June 18, 2015 Pork sold by four major UK supermarkets has tested positive for MRSA CC398 – a variant of the superbug, which can cause skin disorders and serious infections in humans. Products from Sainsbury's, Tesco, the Co-operative and Asda all tested positive for the bacteria during an investigation carried out by The Guardian. Read more: Sainsbury's, [...]