Sainsbury’s Buys Asda for £7.3bn in cash and shares
Sainsbury’s has agreed to buy Walmart’s Leeds-based subsidiary Asda for about £7.3 billion in cash and shares to create the UK’s largest supermarket group by…
April 2018
Sainsbury confirms Asda merger talks
J Sainsbury plc confirmed on Saturday that it is in “advanced discussions” about merging with Walmart’s Leeds-based subsidiary Asda. It is not yet clear how…
£5.3bn Bradford & Bingley loans sold to Barclays group
A £5.3 billion sale of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) mortgages acquired by the UK taxpayer during the financial crisis has been authorised by Chancellor Philip…
N Brown shares rise as revenue tops £922m
Shares of Manchester-based fashion retailer N Brown Group — whose brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo — rose about 6% after it said group…
Big investors vote against Persimmon CEO’s £75m
Aberdeen Standard Investments voted against the “enormous” remuneration packages for executives at York-based housebuilder Persimmon including a £75 million package for Persimmon CEO Jeff Fairburn at the…
Boohoo shares soar as revenue rises 97% to £580m
Shares of Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo.com plc rose almost 20% after it said its revenue soared 97% to £579.8 million and profit before tax jumped…
Airport City Manchester creates £180m hotel district
Airport City Manchester has announced deals to deliver a Holiday Inn and Ibis Budget hotels, marking the creation of a new £180 million hotel district The…
Peel starts Liverpool-Glasgow rail freight service
Peel Ports said it has partnered with the UK’s largest rail freight company, DB Cargo UK, to provide a new rail service for containers via…
CMA clears Co-op’s £137m deal to buy Nisa
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared the £137.5 million purchase of Scunthorpe-based Nisa Retail Limited by the Manchester-based Co-op following an investigation. “After closely examining all…
TransUnion buys Leeds-cased Callcredit for £1bn
Chicago-based credit reporting agency TransUnion said on Friday it will buy Leeds-based consumer data firm Callcredit Information Group for £1 billion in cash from private equity…
Drax starts £50m share buy-back programme
Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group said on Friday it is commencing a £50 million share buy-back programme. J.P. Morgan Securities plc (JPMS plc) will…
Bonmarché profit up despite disappointing store sales
Wakefield-based Bonmarché, the discount fashion retailer aimed at women over 50, on Friday delivered a trading update for the 52-week period ended March 31, 2018. “The…
Maven Capital to manage £27m North East fund
Private equity firm Maven Capital Partners said it has been appointed to manage the £27 million North East Development Capital Fund (NEDCF) which will provide equity, debt…
Yorkshire Bank owner hit By £350m PPI increase
Shares of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG fell more than 5% after it said it expects to increase its provisions for legacy PPI costs as at…
JD Sports profit up 24% to £294m on £3.2bn revenue
Shares of Bury-based JD Sports Fashion rose more than 4% after it said its profit before tax increased 24% to £294.5 million on revenue that…
Sage shares fall amid revenue warning
Shares of Newcastle-based software giant Sage Group fell more than 9% after it said in a trading update that first half organic revenue growth results “were below…
North of England airports back £100bn transport plan
The North of England’s airports have come together to endorse Transport for the North’s draft Strategic Transport Plan which could deliver a £100 billion economic…
Eddie Stobart brand name could be changed
Warrington-based Eddie Stobart Logistics plc said it could drop the iconic Eddie Stobart brand name in the next few years. Eddie Stobart Logistics currently pays its…
Dividend boost as Card Factory revenue tops £422m
Shares of Wakefield-based greeting cards retailer Card Factory rose about 5% after it said revenue rose 6% to £422.1 million in the year to January 31…
Eddie Stobart Logistics revenue up 9.4% to £624m
Warrington-based Eddie Stobart Logistics plc said its revenue rose 9.4% to £623.9 million in the year to November 30, 2017 — its first year as an AIM-listed company….
Conviviality retail business sold to Bestway
Troubled Crewe-based alcohol wholesaler Conviviality Plc — which owns Bargain Booze and Wine Rack — said on Monday that the business and assets of its retail…
AO World revenue to rise 14% to £796m; shares soar
Shares of Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World rose roughly 10% after it said its revenue for the year to March 31 is expected to be about…
Co-op makes £72m profit on £9.5bn revenue
Manchester-based Co-op Group said it made 2017 profit before tax of £72 million following a loss of £132 million in 2016 that reflected the write down of…
Irish drinks firm C&C buys Conviviality wholesale arm
Irish drinks firm C&C, whose brands include Bulmers, Magners and Tennent’s, said on Wednesday it bought the wholesale arm of troubled Crewe-based alcohol wholesaler and distributor Conviviality for a…
Leeds-based Filtronic and Nokia in big antenna project
Leeds-based Filtronic said it has collaborated with Nokia to develop a massive MIMO (multiple input/multiple output) antenna. “The next generation, dual-band FDD-LTE antenna is designed to…
Young’s Seafood of Grimsby wins M&S contracts
Grimsby-based Young’s Seafood Limited announced on Tuesday the signing of three contracts with Marks & Spencer which will see it supply M&S with chilled and frozen…