June 2022



Morrisons second quarter sales fall 6.4%

Bradford-based supermarket giant Morrisons announced on Wednesday its like-for-like sales fell 6.4% in its second quarter but improved towards the end of the period. Nonetheless, revenue…


Avacta shares up 11% amid drug trial news

Shares of Wetherby-based clinical stage oncology drug company Avacta Group plc rose 11% on Wednesday after it announced that the first-in-human Phase I trial of…




B&M quarterly revenue slips 2.2% to £1.16bn

Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail said its first quarter group revenue declined 2.2% to £1.161 billion on a constant currency basis “but with an improving trend during…





Cussons expects £590m revenue

Shares of Manchester-based consumer products company PZ Cussons rose about 3% on Monday after it issued a trading update for the year ended May 31, 2022,…


Skipton hires HSBC’s Stuart Haire as CEO

Skipton Building Society announced that Stuart Haire, currently CEO of Wealth and Personal Banking at HSBC UK, will become Skipton’s new group chief executive at the…




Newcastle’s Grainger in £128m build-to-rent deal

Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, has agreed to acquire its third build-to-rent investment in Bristol for £128 million. Grainger said it has exchanged conditional…




Gear4music revenue slips 6% to £147m

York-based online musical equipment retailer Gear4music said its revenue fell 6% to £147.6 million in the year to March 31, 2022, when measured against an “exceptional…



UnitedHealth buys £1.2bn Leeds-based EMIS

Leeds-based healthcare software and systems firm EMIS Group has agreed to be bought by Optum Health Solutions (UK) Limited, a unit of UnitedHealth Group, in an all-cash deal that…



Moneysupermarket CFO Grimble moves to Deliveroo

Chester-based price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com Group’s chief financial officer (CFO) Scilla Grimble is to leave the firm to become CFO at Deliveroo. Deliveroo said Grimble is…


Boohoo shareholders revolt on executive pay

Many shareholders of Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo voted against the firm’s directors remuneration report and a new long term incentive plan at the AGM…



Barrow’s James Fisher appoints new CEO

Shares of Barrow-in-Furness international marine engineering company James Fisher and Sons plc rose about 8% on Friday after the firm announced that former Smiths Group, Expro and…


musicMagpie revenue slips, but subscribers soar

Stockport-based musicMagpie — which allows consumers to buy, rent and sell refurbished consumer technology — has announced significant growth in its subscription base with active paying…










Go-Ahead shares soar amid potential bidding war

Shares of Newcastle-headquartered bus and rail giant Go-Ahead Group rose another 17% on Tuesday to around £15.88 after Australia-based transport firm Kelsian Group urged Go-Ahead shareholders to…


Revolution Bars shares up on strong trading

Shares of Greater Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group plc rose about 7% on Tuesday after it published a trading and property-related investment update for its financial year…


Bellway order book soars 27% to £2.4bn

Newcastle-based house building giant Bellway said on Tuesday its order book rose 27.3% to £2.404 billion, comprising 8,152 homes, during the period from February 1 to June…



Supreme buys Liberty Flights vaping firm

Supreme plc, the Manchester fast-moving consumer products wholesaler, announced the acquisition of Liberty Flights Holdings Limited, a UK vaping manufacturer, for up to £14.75 million. Liberty…




James Fisher: CEO quits at Barrow firm

James Fisher and Sons plc, the Barrow-in-Furness international marine engineering company, announced that Eoghan O’Lionaird intends to step down as chief executive officer once a successor…





Bolton’s AO World closes German business

Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World plc announced it will close its German business “based on the continuing deterioration in the outlook for the German business,…



Morrisons £7bn takeover gets final clearance

By Mark McSherry US private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice’s £7 billion takeover of Bradford-based supermarket giant Morrisons has cleared its final regulatory hurdle….


Carr’s of Carlisle appoints new directors

Carlisle-based agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s Group announced that First Milk CEO Shelagh Hancock and AG Barr finance director Stuart Lorimer have been appointed as independent…