2017


Work starts on TransPennine bullet trains

Hitachi Rail Europe said production has started on new intercity trains for northern England, Scotland and the TransPennine Express. It said 19 new five-carriage trains harnessing Japanese…


Drax takes £10m hit from power station outage

Shares of North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group fell more than 4% after it said biomass deliveries are currently restricted after an unplanned outage on the rail unloading facilities…






Persimmon bosses leave amid excessive pay row

York-based house builder Persimmon said its chairman Nicholas Wrigley will resign and remuneration committee chair Jonathan Davie has resigned amid a row over excessive executive pay…
















Shares of Leeds consultancy WYG fall 33%

Shares of Leeds-based WYG, the AIM-listed project management consultancy, slumped 33% after it said on Friday it anticipates that operating profit for the full year “will be…








AO revenue £368m, but investment leads to loss

Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World said its revenue rose 13.3% to £368 million in the six months ended September 30, 2017. However, group operating loss was £12 million compared…






Man Utd quarterly revenue up 17% to £141m

Manchester United plc said revenue for the 2018 fiscal first quarter ended September 30, 2017, rose 17% to £141 million in a period when it signed three new players…


Dart Group half year revenue up 34% to £1.6bn

Shares of Leeds-based leisure and logistics firm Dart Group, owner of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, rose 8% after it said it is optimistic it will exceed market expectations of full-year…



Walmart cheers sales growth at Asda

Walmart said its Leeds-based subsidiary Asda enjoyed a second consecutive quarter of positive like-for-like growth. Walmart announced in its earnings for the third quarter that Asda reported…










Schroders buys No 1 Spinningfields for £200m

Allied London’s recently completed Manchester development, No 1 Spinningfields, has been acquired by clients of Schroder Real Estate for more than £200 million. Schroder Real…



Morrisons enjoys third-quarter sales growth

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons said its third-quarter like-for-like sales excluding fuel were up 2.5%, “comprising contributions from retail of 2.1% and wholesale of 0.4%.” “We again worked hard…



Burnley to succeed Clarke as Asda CEO

Walmart said Roger Burnley would take over as CEO at its Leeds-based subsidiary Asda on January 1, 2018, succeeding Sean Clarke who will leave the post after just…


Footasylum IPO values firm at £171m

Lancashire-based youth footwear and apparel retailer Footasylum said its initial public offering (IPO) at £1.64 per share raised gross proceeds of £65.4 million. Footasylum’s brands include…





Virgin Money CEO in gender equality push

The CEO of Edinburgh and Newcastle-based Virgin Money, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, has supported calls for a “ministerial board” that champions the economic benefits of gender diversity….


Canadian property firm to acquire WHR

Canadian real estate firm Avison Young said it agreed to acquire Manchester property consultancy WHR. The Manchester office will become Avison Young’s fifth office in…







Virgin Money mortgage balances hit £33bn

Shares of Newcastle and Edinburgh-based challenger bank Virgin Money rose about 5% after it gave investors a positive trading update and outlook for rest of…


Lancashire’s Footasylum plans £150m AIM float

Lancashire-based youth footwear and apparel retailer Footasylum announced plans to float its shares on London Stock Exchange’s AIM market. The initial public offering is expected to…



Provident shares up 12% on home credit hopes

Shares of troubled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial rose about 12% on Friday after it reported progress with its home credit business recovery plan in a trading…




£137m Co-op offer recommended by Nisa board

The board of Scunthorpe-based Nisa Retail Limited, the member-owned retail and wholesaling group, has unanimously recommended to its shareholders an offer of up to £137.5…