Northern Financial Review

Warrington-based healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT) Assura plc said on Tuesday its rent roll grew 2% to £104.4 million and net rental income rose 10%…

Shares of Liverpool-based bargain retailer B&M European Value Retail fell about 6% on Tuesday after it wrote down the value of its loss-making German business Jawoll…

China’s Jingye Group said on Monday it reached a provisional deal to buy British Steel and promised to invest £1.2 billion over the next decade…

Shares of Scarborough-based Sirius Minerals plc, the firm behind the controversial $5 billion fertilizer mine in North Yorkshire, rose about 9% on Monday as it outlined a new two-stage development plan…

Shares of Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer Greggs soared 17% on Monday after it said in a trading update its sales rose 12.4% in the six…

Moody’s Investors Service has placed the UK’s sovereign credit rating on negative outlook, saying the UK’s ability to set policy has weakened in the Brexit era…

Jet2.com, part of Leeds-based leisure and logistics firm Dart Group, said on Friday it has bought Thomas Cook’s UK slots at Birmingham, London Stansted and Manchester…

Proposals for a £60 million hotel and apartment development have been given the go ahead by Gateshead Council’s planning committee. Liverpool-based Elliot Group submitted the plans…

Manchester-based Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance said it has lent £4 billion to businesses since establishing in 2014. Secure Trust Bank Commercial Finance said it…

Manchester-based Co-operative Bank said on Thursday its third-quarter loss before tax increased 36% to £118.6 million, primarily reflecting a PPI (payment protection insurance) charge of £60…

The UK’s central bank on Thursday kept interest rates on hold — but two members of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) unexpectedly…

Manchester-based Auto Trader Group plc — the UK’s largest digital automotive marketplace — said on Thursday its profit before tax jumped 12% to £127.7 million…

Shares of scandal-hit York house building giant Persimmon rose about 3% on Thursday after it published a third quarter trading statement for the period from…

Blackpool Council said it has acquired the resort’s Houndshill Shopping Centre in a move aimed at sparking the regeneration of the town centre. The council…

Shares of shopping centre operator Intu Properties plc — which runs Manchester’s Trafford Centre and Arndale Centre, Newcastle’s Eldon Square and Gateshead’s Metrocentre — fell about…

The UK Government has held exploratory discussions with the investment industry over changing listing rules to encourage high growth companies and start-ups to list in…

Shares of Barrow-in-Furness marine engineering services company James Fisher and Sons plc fell about 6% on Tuesday after it said it has been subject to…

Premiership Rugby (PRL) said on Tuesday that English champions Saracens have been given a 35-point deduction and fined £5.36 million after they were found guilty…

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday it found that woollen yarn producer Danspin’s purchase of Dewsbury, West Yorkshire competitor Lawton Yarns “poses…

Comcast’s Sky said it has created 1,000 new jobs throughout the UK — including 500 roles at a new customer contact centre in Leeds —…

Deutsche Bahn is in exclusive talks with US private equity firm Carlyle over a £2.2 billion sale of the German rail operator’s Sunderland-based Arriva transport…

Walmart’s Leeds-based subsidiary Asda on Friday has given its shop floor workers more time to sign new employment contracts or face dismissal in a dispute…

The CEO of Liverpool-based Peel Ports Group, the UK’s second largest port operator, told Reuters that cargo shippers are diverting goods to ports across the UK…

Shares of major Manchester car dealership Lookers plc fell 13% on Friday as it announced CEO Andy Bruce and chief operating officer Nigel McMinn will step…

Outsourcing firm Capita plc said on Thursday it has renewed its contract with Manchester-based Co-operative Bank to run its mortgage servicing operation in the UK…

The CEO of Manchester-based cloud hosting firm UKFast, who has stepped down following allegations in The Financial Times of “sexual assault, harassment and inappropriate behaviour,”…

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday cut interest rates for the third time this year to help sustain US growth. However, the Fed also signaled there will…

The stock market value of the North West of England’s listed companies rose from £48.4 billion in the second quarter to £50.8 billion in the…

Legislation for a UK general election on December 12 has cleared the House of Commons, with MPs voting in favour of the move by 438…

Chester-based Sykes Holiday Cottages has been sold to private equity firm Vitruvian Partners in deal worth a reported £375 million. Sykes said the transaction sees…

Rotherham-based brownfield regeneration firm Harworth Group and Sheffield-based property investment group Henry Boot on Tuesday announced a joint venture “to pursue a strategic land opportunity…

The European Union on Monday agreed a three-month “flexible” delay to the UK’s proposed departure from the EU. Just days before the UK is formally…

Manchester-based corporate rescue giant Begbies Traynor Group plc said on Friday it made yet another acquisition. Begbies Traynor said it acquired Alexander Lawson Jacobs Limited (ALJ), a…

Shares of Manchester-based drug discovery company C4X Discovery Holdings plc (C4XD) fell about 58% on Thursday as it announced it raised £7 million from a share placing…

Shares of Chester-based identity data company GB Group (GBG) rose 14% on Thursday after it said its revenue for the six months to September 30, 2019,…

UPDATE 3 — Manchester-based investment platform AJ Bell said on Thursday its total customer numbers increased 17% to 232,066 in the year to September 30…

Blackburn-based petrol station and convenience store giant EG Group has announced the completion of its Cumberland Farms acquisition in the United States. Based in Westborough, Massachusetts, Cumberland…

The value of private equity (PE) deals taking UK-listed companies private more than trebled to £14 billion in 2018-19, up from £3.8 billion the previous…

Shares of Manchester-based online holiday retailer On the Beach Group plc rose about 6% on Tuesday after it said in a trading update that the liquidation of…

Shares of York-based online music equipment retailer Gear4music rose 10% on Tuesday after it reported a strong trading update for the six months to September…

Manchester-based corporate rescue giant Begbies Traynor Group plc said on Monday it acquired Leeds-based business transfer agent Ernest Wilson for up to £5.63 million. “This long-established business,…

Shares of Glasgow-based banking group CYBG — owner of Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank — rose about 4% on Monday as it rebranded as Virgin…

Wakefield fashion firm Bonmarché Holdings has collapsed into administration, putting almost 2,900 jobs at risk. Tony Wright, Alastair Massey and Phil Pierce, partners at specialist…

Wincanton Plc said on Friday it is mulling a possible offer for Warrington-based Eddie Stobart Logistics Plc. The news came just two days after Eddie…

Deutsche Bank said on Thursday it sees a 55% chance that UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal will be rejected by the UK Parliament…

Warrington-based Eddie Stobart Logistics plc said DBAY Advisors, its second-largest shareholder, has been granted more time to make a firm takeover offer for the haulage…

Manchester-based social media agency Social Chain and German online retailer Lumaland AG have merged to form The Social Chain AG. “Through the reverse merger with the…

Liverpool-based Peel Ports Group, the UK’s second largest port operator, said on Thursday its ports at Liverpool, Heysham in Lancashire and Sheerness London Medway “have the…

Manchester-based corporate rescue giant Begbies Traynor Group plc said on Thursday its latest research reveals that the number of UK businesses in “significant” financial distress has increased…

Shares of Chester-based price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com fell about 9% on Thursday after a trading statement showed its growth slowed in the quarter ended September…

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has taken the first step towards potentially stripping train operator Northern rail of its franchise, according to a report from the Press…