US firm SWM agrees £403m deal to buy Scapa
US resins firm Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. (SWM) said on Wednesday it reached an agreement with the board of Ashton-under-Lyne-based wound care and industrial firm Scapa Group on…
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Perspective buys £130m asset firm Atkinson White
Cussons H1 revenue £313m amid sanitiser demand
SimplyBiz reports ‘resilient’ £61m revenues
JD Sports mulls share sale amid £400m reports
Pensana Rare Earths applies for $125m Humber plant
Together Financial in £500m bond issuance
James Fisher appoints Angus Cockburn chairman
San Francisco 49ers up Leeds Utd stake to 37%
Boohoo buys Debenhams brand but stores, jobs axed
Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo Group plc said on Monday it acquired the intellectual property assets and brand of Debenhams — as well as other business…
Great Places Housing issues final part of £345m bond
Manchester-based housing association Great Places Housing Group said on Friday it has issued the final £70 million retained portion of its existing £345 million bond…
UK debt up £333bn to £2.13 Trillion; 99% of GDP
The UK’s public sector net debt rose £333.5 billion in the first nine months of the financial year to reach £2.13 trillion at the end…
AJ Bell executives sell another £4m of shares
Salford-based investment platform AJ Bell said on Friday that Bestfield Investments, a person closely associated (PCA) with Fergus Lyons, the AJ Bell Investcentre managing director, sold…
Nissan Sunderland plant production ‘paused’
Nissan has been forced to “pause” one of the two production lines at its Sunderland factory due to supply delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic….
Team17 ups revenue 34%, buys Golf With Your Friends
Wakefield-based video game developer Team17 Group on Thursday published a trading update for the year ended December 31, 2020, saying it will deliver year on year revenue and…
Sumo, Sheffield gaming firm, ‘ahead of expectations’
Shares of Sheffield-based video gaming firm Sumo Group plc rose about 12% on Thursday after it published a trading update saying its its revenue and adjusted…
Clipper Logistics in Netherlands deal with Farfetch
Leeds-based retail logistics firm Clipper Logistics said on Thursday it has entered into an agreement with online luxury fashion retailer Farfetch to provide pan-European “e-fulfilment and…
EG fuels IPO talk as Stuart Rose becomes chairman
Blackburn-based petrol station and convenience store giant EG Group has named industry veteran Stuart Rose as non-executive chairman to improve its governance, raising expectations of a stock…
Pets at Home Q3 revenue up 18% to £302m
Wilmslow-based pet and vet retailer Pets at Home Group said on Thursday its third-quarter revenue grew 18% to £302 million in the 12 weeks to December…
Sage, Newcastle software giant, ups Q1 to £447m
Shares of Newcastle-based software giant Sage Group rose about 5% on Thursday after it published a trading update for the three months ended December 31,…
AJ Bell assets up 14% to £62bn as inflows double
Salford-based investment platform AJ Bell said on Thursday its assets under administration (AUA) increased to £62.5 billion, up 14% over the last 12 months and…
UK company dividends fell 44% to £62bn in 2020
The latest UK Dividend Monitor from Link Group shows that UK company dividends fell 44% to £61.9 billion in 2020, or 38.1% to £61.1 billion…
Henry Boot ‘materially ahead of expectations’
Shares of Sheffield-based property investment and construction group Henry Boot plc rose about 5% on Tuesday after it published a trading update for 2020 saying it…
Covid costs hit AO shares despite 67% sales growth
Shares of Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World plc fell about 5% on Tuesday after it issued a trading update for its third quarter to December 31,…
Begbies Traynor shares up on insolvency acquisition
Shares of Manchester-based corporate rescue firm Begbies Traynor Group plc rose about 7% on Monday after it announced it completed the £20.8m acquisition of CVR Global…
Starwood £200m plan for Renaissance Manchester site
Starwood Capital Group said on Friday it has acquired the Renaissance Manchester site from Urban & Civic through a joint venture with Property Alliance Group. Located…
N Brown shares fall 14% amid stock delivery delays
Shares of Manchester-based online fashion and home goods retailer N Brown Group fell 14% on Friday after it published a trading update that showed the pace of…
Clipper chairman sells £62m of shares; 11% of firm
UPDATE 2 — Leeds-based retail logistics firm Clipper Logistics said Carlton Court Investments Limited, a company ultimately controlled by Clipper’s executive chairman Steve Parkin, sold 11…
Boohoo sales up 40% but shares fall as Leveson lingers
Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo Group plc — under scrutiny for its corporate governance and working conditions in factories that supply the firm — said…
Card Factory warns of covenant breach and loss
Shares of Wakefield-based greeting card and gift retailer Card Factory plc fell about 7% on Thursday as it warned investors it anticipates that its current…
DWF, Manchester law giant, unveils new global structure
Manchester-headquartered international law firm DWF Group plc on Thursday announced a new internal operating structure, effective from May 1, 2021. It will see the group move…
York’s Gear4music: quarterly sales up 30% to £52m
Shares of York-based international online music equipment retailer Gear4music rose another 8% on Thursday after it published a trading update for the three months to…
Hut Group investors sell £250m shares; lock-up waived
UPDATE 3 — Manchester-based beauty and nutrition giant The Hut Group (THG) said some of its shareholders sold a total of 32.89 million shares in the…
Marshalls reinstates dividend as revenue bounces back
Elland, West Yorkshire-based stone and landscaping firm Marshalls plc on Wednesday confirmed its intention to re-instate dividend payments as it reported revenue growth has “progressively…
Manchester chain firm Renold up 10%; trading robust
Shares of Shares of Manchester industrial chain firm Renold plc rose about 10% on Wednesday after it issued a trading update covering the three months ended…
Persimmon revenue down 9% to £3.3bn; shares fall
Shares of York-based house building giant Persimmon plc fell about 5% on Wednesday after it published a trading update ahead of its final results for the…
B&M shareholders Arora family sell £218m stake
SSA Investments, the Arora family investment vehicle, announced it has sold about 40 million of its shares in Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail for £218 million….
Vimto firm Nichols sees revenue fall 19% to £118m
Merseyside-based Vimto and soft drinks firm Nichols plc said in a trading update on Tuesday that its revenue fell 19.3% to £118.7 million in the 12…
Accrol shares fall despite narrowed loss, dividend vow
Shares of Blackburn-based toilet roll and tissue maker Accrol Group fell about 7% on Tuesday after it published results for the six months ended October…
Carr’s trading robust; shareholders revolt on exec pay
Shares of Carlisle-based agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s Group rose about 5% on Tuesday after it published a “robust” trading update for the 19-week period ended…
Hut Group lifts revenue forecast as Q4 hits £559m
Manchester-based beauty and nutrition giant The Hut Group (THG) said on Tuesday it now expects full-year 2021 revenue growth to be between 30% and 35% ahead of…
Grainger buys Bristol development for £63m
Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said on Monday it acquired a 231-home forward fund build to rent development in Bristol for £63 million….
SIG flags £1.8bn revenue; shares up 9% amid recovery
Shares of Sheffield-based building materials supplier SIG plc rose about 9% on Monday after it published a trading update for the year ended December 31, 2020,…
AJ Bell scraps VAT, plans ‘responsible portfolios’
Salford-based investment platform AJ Bell said on Monday it is removing VAT from its Managed Portfolio Service (MPS) “cementing its position as one of the cheapest…
Warrington health REIT Assura rent roll now £118m
Assura plc, the Warrington-based healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT), said on Monday it now has a portfolio of 593 properties with a current annualised rent…
Stobart becomes Esken as brand sold to Eddie
Shares of Carlisle-based aviation and energy infrastructure firm Stobart Group rose about 9% on Monday after it announced its intention to change its name to Esken Limited….
JD Sports profit ‘significantly ahead’ of expectations
Shares of Bury-based retail giant JD Sports Fashion Plc rose about 5% on Monday after it published a trading update on its performance following the Christmas…
Pets at Home expects profit ahead of previous guidance
Shares of Wilmslow-based pet and vet retailer Pets at Home Group rose about 6% on Friday after it published a trading update saying it anticipates…
Avacta shares up on license deal with Point Biopharma
Shares of Wetherby-based biotherapeutics company Avacta Group plc rose 3% on Thursday after it said it has entered into a license agreement with Point Biopharma…
Daisy demerges £1bn cloud firm DWS ahead of IPO
Private equity firm Inflexion has agreed to make a significant minority investment in Digital Wholesale Solutions (DWS), an IT, communications and cloud wholesale platform that…
James Fisher shares up 8% on trading update
Shares of Barrow-in-Furness international marine services company James Fisher and Sons plc rose about 8% on Thursday after it published a trading update for the year…
B&M pays £200m special dividend, extra wages
Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail said on Thursday it will pay a further special dividend of 20p per share — equating to £200 million in total…
Troubled Lookers hires interim chief financial officer
Troubled Altrincham-based car dealership Lookers plc, whose shares have been suspended amid an accounting investigation, announced that Anna Bielby has been appointed as a director and…
Clipper’s logistics up 50% amid ‘unprecedented’ trade
Leeds-based retail logistics firm Clipper Logistics on Wednesday published a trading update for the Black Friday and Christmas periods saying that it experienced “unprecedented levels of…
Auto Trader offers free advertising in February
Manchester-based Auto Trader Group plc — the UK’s largest digital marketplace for cars — on Wednesday published a trading update “as a result of the…
Greggs shares up 10% as it slows down sales decline
Shares of Newcastle-based bakery and food retailer Greggs rose about 10% on Wednesday after it published a trading update for the fourth quarter of 2020 showing…
Linen giant Johnson names Fyfe Lennox new chairman
Runcorn-based workwear and textile firm Johnson Service Group (JSG) said on Tuesday that its chairman Bill Shannon has advised the JSG board of his intention to retire…
Morrisons sales up 8% as champagne, salmon cheer
Bradford-based supermarket giant Morrisons said on Tuesday its like-for-like sales for the first 22 weeks of its second half to January 3 were up 8.1%. “Shopping patterns…
Lloyds backs £100m deal to merge Lomond, Linley
LDC, the private equity division of Lloyds Banking Group, said it has backed the creation of a new UK-wide lettings and estate agency group in a £100…
US investment firm ALK buys 84% stake in Burnley FC
ALK Capital, the US investment firm specialising in the sports and media sectors, said it has “completed its investment” in Burnley FC. The deal, approved…