On the Beach shares up 9% as revenue, profit rise
Shares of Stockport-based beach holiday online retailer On the Beach Group plc rose 9% after it said its revenue increased 17.2% to £83.6 million and adjusted profit before…
November 2017
Co-op to supply Costcutter following P&H collapse
The Co-op and Costcutter Supermarkets Group (CSG) confirmed an agreement that will see Co-op become exclusive wholesale supplier to CSG and the 2,200 Costcutter, Mace,…
KCOM confident despite fall in H1 revenue, profit
Hull-based communications firm KCOM said its group revenue fell 8.5% to £151.3 million driven by expected decline in legacy activities within National Network Services and profit…
Pets At Home shares fall as CEO, KKR director leave
Shares of Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, accessories and veterinary services, fell more than 10% after it said CEO Ian Kellett will…
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…
Investors mull £224m offer for Sheffield’s Servelec
Sheffield-based software and hardware firm Servelec said late on Thursday a £224 million cash takeover offer from Montagu Private Equity for Servelec had so far received support…
Provident chairman Wolstenholme, 53, dies suddenly
Troubled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial said its executive chairman Manjit Wolstenholme died suddenly on November 23 at the age of 53. Wolstenholme assumed the role of…
Sports Direct calls vote on £11m for Ashley’s brother
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International has called a general meeting for shareholders to vote on whether Ashley’s brother John should be paid £11 million by…
Sage profit up 10% to £475m; revenue up to £1.7bn
Newcastle-based software giant Sage Group, the UK’s largest tech company, said its “organic” operating profit rose 10.3% to £475 million as “organic” revenue rose 6.6% to £1.69…
Revenue up to £561m at Leeds’ Renew Holdings
Leeds-based engineering services group Renew Holdings said revenue rose 6.7% to £560.8 million and adjusted profit before tax rose 13.1% to £25.2 million in the…
Severfield shares up 11% as H1 revenue hits £137m
Shares of Thirsk, North Yorkshire-based steel group Severfield rose 11% after it said its revenue rose 16% to £137.1 million and underlying profit before tax soared 59%…
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…
Swiss bank Baer in key hires for Manchester, Leeds
Swiss private bank Julius Baer, which is opening new offices in Manchester, Leeds and Scotland, said a number of new key hires have joined the…
Yorkshire Bank owner profit up 33% to £293m
Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said on Tuesday its underlying profit before tax rose 33% to £293 million in the year to September 30. CYBG…
Ludlow Wealth acquires Whyte Sharp for Scots push
Southport-based Ludlow Wealth Management has acquired Scottish financial management business Whyte Sharp as it looks to increase its business in Scotland. Ludlow advises clients across…
Regulators OK DFS Furniture acquisition of Sofology
Doncaster-based DFS Furniture said the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA) will allow its acquisition of sofa retailer Sofology Limited to proceed. “There were no conditions attached to the…
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…
Virgin Money aims for £10bn SME, digital deposits
Edinburgh and Newcastle-based Virgin Money said it will enter the banking market for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) starting with a deposit account in January 2018…
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…
30% of Northern businesses ‘show distress’
The number of businesses in the North of England showing signs of growth is at its lowest for over five years, while the number showing…
CMA provisionally clears £3.7bn Tesco-Booker deal
The Competition and Markets Authority has provisionally concluded that Tesco’s £3.7 billion purchase of Booker does not raise competition concerns. This is a provisional decision and…
Nisa members vote narrowly for takeover by Co-op
Members of Scunthorpe-based Nisa Retail Limited, the member-owned retail and wholesaling group, voted narrowly in favour of Manchester-based Co-op Group’s offer to buy Nisa for…
Manchester Airports Group bond raises £300m
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) priced a £300 million, 22-year bond with an annual coupon of 2.875% and order book that was more than three times…
Manchester’s Lookers defies car market slowdown
Manchester-based Lookers plc, the UK’s biggest car dealership, said in a trading update that its turnover of new cars increased 10% in the nine months to September…
Persimmon shares hit amid planning consent woes
Shares of York-based house builder Persimmon fell almost 4% after it said in a third quarter trading statement that achieving detailed planning consent for new developments…
Harrogate’s Vp buys Brandon Hire in £69m deal
Harrogate-based Vp plc, the equipment rental specialist, announced the acquisition of Brandon Hire Group Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries for £41.6 million in cash and…
LA firm LGP buys Leeds’ Pure Gym in £600m deal
Los Angeles-based private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners (LGP) said it will buy a controlling interest in Leeds-based Pure Gym Ltd, the UK’s largest gym…
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…
UK central bank ups rates for first time in decade
The Bank of England — the UK’s central bank — raised interest rates for the first time in more than 10 years on Thursday but…
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…