2018



Bellway profit £641m on revenue of £2.96bn

Newcastle-based house building giant Bellway said its profit before tax rose 14.3% to £641.1 million and revenue increased 15.6% to £2.96 billion in the year ended July…









Greggs sales up 7.3%, helped by focaccia

Shares of Greggs, the Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer, rose about 5% after it said its sales rose 7.3% in the 13 weeks to September…


Cammell Laird wins £619m contracts

Merseyside-based shipyard and engineering company Cammell Laird said it won two 10-year contracts worth an estimated £619 million to support the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA)….


Bruntwood, L&G in £360m technology investment

Manchester-based commercial property company Bruntwood and Legal & General Capital said they established a landmark 50:50 partnership to create the UK’s largest property platform dedicated…


Peel consortium may take £2bn Intu private

A consortium including North of England billionaire John Whittaker, Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group is considering a bid for Intu Properties, the shopping center…





Sunderland sofa firm ScS revenue up to £337m

Sunderland-based furniture and floorings retailer ScS Group said its revenue rose 1.3% to £337.3 million and profit before tax rose 10.5% to £13.2 million in the 52 weeks ended…





Boohoo half-year revenue up 50% to £395m

Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo.com plc said on Wednesday its revenue soared 50% to £395.3 million and profit before tax rose 22% to £24.7 million…




Drax Targets £1bn Of ScottishPower Assets

North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group is in talks to buy a number of ScottishPower assets as it continues to diversify away from coal-burning generation. Drax said…



Revenue tops £196m at Sheffield’s Gleeson

Sheffield-based affordable housebuilder MJ Gleeson plc said on Monday group profit before tax increased 12.1% to £37 million on revenue up 23% to £196.7 million in the…




Co-op first-half sales up 10% to £5bn

Manchester-based Co-op Group said its first-half sales increased 10% to £5 billion, driven by a strong food sales performance and the acquisition of Nisa. Group…




Morrisons first-half revenue up 4.5% to £8.8bn

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons said on Thursday its first-half revenue rose 4.5% to £8.8 billion and underlying profit before tax rose 9% to £193 million. Morrisons CEO…


CEO leaves Manchester fashion giant N Brown

Manchester-based fashion retailer N Brown Group — whose brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo — said on Wednesday that its CEO Angela Spindler will leave…



Shareholders OK Yorkshire Bank-Virgin Money Deal

Shareholders of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG and shareholders of Virgin Money on Monday overwhelmingly approved the all-share deal for CYBG to take over its Newcastle-based…


The Lakes Distillery mulls £15m IPO

The Lakes Distillery, the “English single malt” whisky distillery, announced it is exploring the possibility of seeking admission of its shares to trading on AIM,…




Blackburn’s EG Group in $305m US acquisition

Blackburn-based petrol station and convenience store giant EG Group announced on Tuesday a further expansion in the United States with the acquisition of 225 Minit Mart branded convenience retail stores and gas stations and related assets from TravelCenters of…


Redrow revenue up 16% to record £1.9bn

Flintshire-based house builder Redrow said on Tuesday its revenue rose 16% to a record £1.92 billion in the year to June 30 driven by higher legal completions and…


TSB CEO Pester Leaves After IT Fiasco

UPDATE 3 – TSB Bank Plc said on Tuesday that its CEO Paul Pester is leaving the company after months of pressure that followed a botched…



TSB hit by yet another IT problem

TSB — which is owned by Spain’s Banco Sabadell — said on Monday some of its customers are having problems using its internet banking facilities, its…




Eddie Stobart H1 revenue up 25% to £359m

Warrington-based Eddie Stobart Logistics plc said on Thursday its revenue rose 25.3% to £359.3 million in the six months ended May 31, 2018. First-half profit was £1.4 million…





CMA to investigate Sainsbury’s-Asda merger

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday it has launched a formal investigation into the proposed merger between J Sainsbury and Asda Group. Sainsbury’s…


Persimmon first-half revenue up 5% to £1.8bn

York-based Persimmon, the UK’s second-largest house builder, said on Tuesday its profit before tax increased 13% to £516.3 million and revenue was up 5% to £1.84 billion in the…




Asda reports growth ahead of Sainsbury’s deal

Walmart’s Leeds-based subsidiary Asda — currently preparing to be taken over by Sainsbury’s — has reported a fifth quarter of positive growth in the period from April 1 to…





Sheffield’s Sumo buys The Chinese Room

Sheffield-based video gaming giant Sumo Group plc said it acquired Brighton-based game development studio The Chinese Room Ltd for a total consideration of £2.2 million…








Pets At Home Q1 revenue up 8% to £277m

Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, accessories and veterinary services, reported revenue growth of 8.1% to £277.4 million for the 16 week period…



Yorkshire Building Society assets up to £42.3bn

Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society’s recent interim results showed its core operating profit rose to £86.3 million for the first six months of the year compared to £84.2 million…


Sage confident of achieving revenue guidance

Newcastle-based software giant Sage Group, the UK’s largest tech company, said on Thursday it remains confident of achieving its full year guidance on “organic” revenue…