Northern Financial Review

Skipton Building Society announced it plans to launch a 100% mortgage aimed at potential first-time buyers who cannot save for a deposit — the first…

By Mark McSherry Bury-based FTSE 100 retailer JD Sports Fashion plc announced it is in exclusive talks to buy French chain Courir for an enterprise value…

Shares of Marshalls plc, the Elland, West Yorkshire-based stone and landscaping firm, fell as much as 13% on Tuesday after it published a trading update for…

Manchester industrial chain and power transmission firm Renold plc said it has reached agreement for the extension of its core banking facilities that were due to…

Matthew Moulding, founder and CEO of Manchester-based consumer brands giant THG plc, has blasted the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority…

Begbies Traynor Group plc, the Manchester-based business recovery, financial advisory and property services consultancy, said it has completed the acquisition of BLC No1 Limited, which trades…

SIG plc, the Sheffield-based international building materials supplier, has reported like-for-like sales growth of 1% with revenues of £924 million for the four months to April…

Runcorn-based workwear and textile firm Johnson Service Group (JSG) said its revenue in the first four months of the year amounted to £135 million, 22% higher than…

Altrincham-based car dealership Lookers plc announced the acquisition of Waterhouse Cars Limited, an automotive retail group based in Chelmsford, Essex. “The acquisition complements the group’s…

Wakefield-based greeting card and gift retailer Card Factory said its profit before tax soared 368.5% to £52.4 million as revenue rose 27.1% to £463.4 million in…

Publisher National World announced the acquisitions of Manchester-based Insider Media Limited and the Rotherham Advertiser as part of its strategy “to create a fully digitised…

Carlisle-based agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s Group said on Tuesday morning its revenue increased 24% to 79.8 million in the 26 weeks ended March 4, 2023,…

Accrol Group, Blackburn-based toilet roll and tissue maker, announced that Chris Welsh has joined its board as chief financial officer. “As detailed in the HY23 results…

Durham-based Atom bank, the UK’s first app based bank, is hoping to raise up to £150 million to fund expansion ahead of a stock market listing…

Salford-based investment giant AJ Bell has revealed details of its consultancy arrangements with outgoing chair Helena Morrissey. “Further to the announcements on 27 September 2022 and…

Lancashire Cricket announced it has recorded an operating profit of £3.068 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. Emirates Old Trafford’s on-site Hilton Garden…

Manchester-based Co-op Bank said its underlying profit before tax rose about 28% to £35.1. million in the three months ended March 31, 2023. Co-op Bank said its…

James Fisher and Sons plc, the Barrow-in-Furness marine engineering firm, said its 2022 revenue from continuing operations increased 8.1% to £478.1 million and it made…

By Mark McSherry Wakefield-based Team17 Group, the developer of video games and educational entertainment apps, said its subsidiary Astragon Entertainment GmbH has completed the acquisition of the…

Leeds-based Jet2 plc has announced a major investment into a new Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) production plant to be constructed at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. The agreement will see…

Shares of Manchester-based tool and equipment rental firm HSS Hire Group plc rose about 7% on Thursday after it reported that its 2022 revenue grew 9.7%…

Merseyside-based Vimto and soft drinks firm Nichols plc announced at its AGM on April 26 that chief financial officer David Rattigan has resigned from the board…

James Fisher and Sons plc, the Barrow-in-Furness international marine engineering company, announced on April 26 it has reached agreement on the terms of a new £210…

By Mark McSherry Munich-based investment firm Aurelius Equity Opportunities SE & Co. KGaA said it has sold Manchester-based Distrelec Group, a European B2B distributor of electronic…

Shares of North Yorkshire power generator Drax Group rose as much as 4% after it announced a £150 million share buyback programme and published a…

Shares of York-based house building giant Persimmon plc rose as much as 5% after it said its recent trading “has offered some signs of encouragement”…

Wetherby-based life sciences company Avacta Group said its reported group revenues for the year ended December 31, 2022, increased to £9.65 million compared from £2.94…

Shares of Manchester-based household products firm McBride rose about 10% after it published a trading update for its current financial year ending June 30, 2023,…

Harrogate-based IT firm Redcentric plc has announced “provisional results” in an update for the year to March 31, 2023, showing revenues rose 52% to £141.8…

Renewable energy giant Drax Group has announced that almost 50 years of power generation from coal at its North Yorkshire power station has come to…

By Mark McSherry Wakefield-based greeting card and gift retailer Card Factory said on Tuesday it has acquired SA Greetings Corporation (Pty) Ltd and its subsidiaries, which…

Shares of Northcoders Group plc rose as much as 9% after the provider of training programmes for software coding published results for the year ended…

Bury-based FTSE 100 retailer JD Sports Fashion plc announced that Angela Luger and Darren Shapland will be appointed as non-executive directors with effect from June 1,…

NCC Group, the Manchester-based global cyber security firm, announced the appointment of The Guardian executive Diji Akinwale to the new role of Director of Strategy…

Wakefield-based greeting card and gift retailer Card Factory announced that its performance in the year ended January 31, 2023, includes revenue of £463.4 million. The company…

Manchester-based consumer brands giant THG plc announced that advertising and marketing veteran Sue Farr has been appointed senior independent director of THG with immediate effect. “Sue…

Salford-based investment platform giant AJ Bell plc has announced the appointment of Fiona Clutterbuck as the non-executive chair of the company with effect from May…

Leeds-based Jet2 plc said it now expects to report a group profit before foreign exchange revaluation and taxation for the year ended March 31, 2023, of between…

Shares of Chester-based identity data company GB Group (GBG) recovered some ground after it announced a positive trading update for the year to March 31, 2023….

Salford-based AJ Bell said customer numbers in its investment platform business increased by 20,643 in the quarter ended March 31, 2023, to close at 455,008,…

By Mark McSherry Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a subsidiary of Tata Motors, announced it will invest £15 billion over the next five years to develop electric cars…

Kendal-based paper products and advanced materials firm James Cropper plc has published a trading update and overview of its strategy “to accelerate revenue and profit growth”…

Shares of Manchester-based consumer brands giant THG plc fell about 17% on Tuesday after it published results for the financial year ended December 31, 2022, and…

Liverpool-based Surface Transforms plc said it increased the “lifetime value” of its order book by £175 million to £290 million in the year to December…

By Mark McSherry Shares of Manchester-based consumer brands giant THG plc rose about 30% on Monday after it confirmed it received “a highly preliminary and…

Shares of Manchester industrial chain and power transmission firm Renold plc rose about 15% on Monday after it published a strong trading update for the year…

Manchester-based Co-op Bank is in the early stages of exploring strategic options — including mergers and acquisitions, a sale of the bank and an initial…

Legal & General (L&G) and Glenbrook announced the funding of a £140 million residential development in Whitehall Riverside in Leeds, committing to the delivery of…

By Mark McSherry Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said it served 92% of pre-pandemic passenger levels in March. MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted…

Leeds-based Jet2 plc announced the appointments of Simon Breakwell and Angela Luger as independent non-executive directors of the company with effect from April 27 and July…

Shares of Cheshire-based international veterinary drugs giant Dechra Pharmaceuticals rose about 35% to around £37.50 on Friday after it said late on Thursday it has entered…

Shares of Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World plc rose about 11% on Friday after it published a trading update for the 12 months to March 31,…

Cheshire-based international veterinary drugs giant Dechra Pharmaceuticals said late on Thursday it has entered into discussions with Swedish private equity firm EQT over a possible £4.63 billion…

Shares of Manchester-based FTSE 250 consumer products company PZ Cussons rose about 4% after it published a trading update for its third quarter ending March 4, 2023,…

Wilmslow-based fashion firm Sosandar plc published a trading update for its financial year ended March 31, 2023, showing revenue up 44% to £42.5 million and…

By Mark McSherry Shares of Ladbible parent LBG Media plc fell as much as 5% on Wednesday morning after it said its 2022 profit before tax…

Newcastle-based Greggs has reported “significant progress” towards its 2025 sustainability targets as it launched the third edition of its annual sustainability report called The Greggs…

Northern Gritstone, the investment business focused on university spin-outs and technology-enabled businesses in the North of England, has invested in LC AuxeTec, a deeptech company…

Manchester-based Bruntwood SciTech said it has secured an additional £100 million as part of its financing facilities from HSBC UK, Lloyds Bank, NatWest and Santander…

Shares of Manchester-based consumer brands giant THG plc rose as much as 8% as it announced a new partnership with beauty e-commerce retailer Maximo Group, home…

Shares of York-based online musical equipment retailer Gear4music fell as much as 10% after it announced a year-end trading update covering the 12 months to…

Shares of Newcastle-based building services firm Northern Bear plc rose about 30% after it published an update on its corporate strategy, dividend policy and trading…

Altrincham-based car dealership Lookers plc reported that its 2022 revenue rose 6.2% to £4.3 billion while profit before tax slipped to £84.4 million from £90 million,…

Manchester-based Co-op Group said it aims to attract one million active new members over the next five years as it announced its revenue rose 3% to £11.5…

Shares of Macclesfield-based Franchise Brands fell about 25% after the firm announced an equity raise at a discount of 27% to help fund the purchase of Hydraulic…

Leeds-based digital services partner Hippo Digital has acquired Leeds-based data consultancy The Data Shed. This acquisition takes Hippo Digital’s headcount close to 400 and revenues…

Rathbones Group Plc has agreed to buy the UK wealth management business of Investec Plc in an all-share deal valued at £839 million. The merger will…

The new CEO of Warrington-based water giant United Utilities, Louise Beardmore, said the company is planning to bring forward investment of £914 million. The company said…

Liverpool-based FTSE 100 firm B&M European Value Retail S.A. said it completed a refinancing of its bank facilities. “The extended group facilities, provided by a syndicate of…

The eight research intensive universities that form the Midlands Innovation organization have established a new investment company called Midlands Mindforge Limited “to accelerate the commercialisation of university…