Aon to acquire Leeds’ Henderson Insurance Broking
Aon plc said it will acquire Leeds-based Henderson Insurance Broking Group. Terms have been agreed and Aon anticipates to complete the acquisition in December. Financial…
October 2017
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…
Port of Tyne takes pellet super shipment for Drax
The Port of Tyne has handled its biggest ever cargo of wood pellets with the arrival of the bulk cargo vessel St Dimitrios from Vancouver…
Crown Estate sells £63m Altrincham Retail Park
The UK’s Crown Estate has confirmed the sale of Altrincham Retail Park to clients of Orchard Street Investment Management for £63.05 million. “The Crown Estate,…
Virgin Money set for all-female leadership team
Edinburgh and Newcastle-based Virgin Money is set to be the only company in the FTSE 350 with an all-female leadership after the bank confirmed it…
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…
Hodder £19m Manchester scheme approved
A £19 million plan for a 15-storey property development in Manchester has been approved by Manchester City Council. The location of the site is on…
Market value of North West firms up to £45.6bn
The third quarter of 2017 has seen listed companies in the North West of England add almost £2 billion to their total stock market values,…
Drax contributes £1.7bn to GDP, supports 18k jobs
North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group said it contributed almost £1.7 billion towards UK GDP in 2016 and supported more than 18,500 jobs across the country. Drax…
AMP Capital to buy £200m Leeds Bradford Airport
Australian investment firm AMP Capital — which owns 49% of Newcastle Airport — has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of Leeds Bradford Airport from…
Bellway profit £560m on revenue of £2.5bn
Newcastle-based house builder Bellway said its profit before tax rose 12.6% to £560.7 million on revenue up 14.2% to £2.5 billion in the year ended July 31,…
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…
Mike Ashley puts Newcastle United up for sale
Mike Ashley’s St. James Holdings Limited said in a statement it has put Newcastle United up for sale. The statement read: “As a result of increasing…
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…
Simply Be helps N Brown H1 revenue rise to £453m
Manchester-based fashion retailer N Brown Group said its revenue rose 5.6% to £453.4 million in the 26 weeks to September 2, with adjusted trading profit before tax…
£1.4bn revenue, £24m profit at Vertu Motors
Gateshead-based Vertu Motors plc said its revenues were unchanged at £1.45 billion for the six months ended August 31, 2017, but profit before tax was up 29.4%…
£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…
Lancashire bears brunt of 2,000 BAE job cuts
Defence company BAE Systems announced nearly 2,000 job cuts on Tuesday after orders for its Typhoon fighter jet slowed. Based on current orders for its…
Manchester Festival worth £40m to local economy
This year’s Manchester International Festival was worth £40.2 million to the local economy, according to Manchester City Council. The Festival had more productions on offer, bigger audiences,…
DFS Furniture profit falls 22.3% to £50.1m
Shares of Doncaster-based DFS Furniture fell 4% after it said its profit before tax fell 22.3% to £50.1 million in the year to July 29 and…
Boot to build 5,000-job Tyneside business park
A “nationally significant” advanced manufacturing park expected to deliver more than 5,000 jobs in the North East of England is moving forward with the appointment of a…
£85m Durham University deal for two new colleges
A consortium led by construction group Interserve has been selected for an £85 million project by Durham University to finance, design, build and operate two…
Sunderland sofa firm ScS revenue up to £333m
Shares of Sunderland-based furniture and floorings retailer ScS Group rose 7% on Tuesday after it said revenue rose 4.9% to £333 million and profit before tax jumped 9.9%…
South Bank could double size of Leeds city centre
Developer CEG said it has submitted a planning application for a £350 million, 3.52 hectare (8.69 acre) site in South Bank, Leeds, close to the…
£400m transport boost for Northern Powerhouse
The UK Government said on Monday that £400 million of extra funding will back transport improvements across the Northern Powerhouse. “More than £100 million will go towards…