Northern Financial Review

Walmart’s Leeds-based subsidiary Asda and Sainsbury’s on Tuesday committed to deliver £1 billion of annual price cuts as they attempt to salvage their proposed merger….

Bury-based JD Sports Fashion Plc said on Monday it agreed to acquire Rochdale-based Footasylum Plc in a deal valued at up to £90.1 million. That…

The economies of the Borderlands area of the North of England and South of Scotland are to benefit from up to £447 million of investment….

Doncaster-based DFS Furniture said on Thursday said its revenue rose 29.1% to £422.3 million and profit before tax more than doubled to £14.1 million in the 22…

Manchester-based car dealership Lookers plc said on Wednesday its 2018 turnover increased 3.9% to £4.88 billion thanks to growth in its used cars and after…

Embattled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial, which has rejected an unsolicited £1.3 billion all-share offer from smaller rival Non-Standard Finance plc (NSF), on Wednesday reported…

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons said on Wednesday its revenue rose 2.7% to £17.7 billion and profit before tax and exceptionals was up 8.6% to £406 million in the…

Nissan Motor Co’s premium brand Infiniti said on Tuesday it will discontinue the Q30 sedan and the QX30 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) and cease their production…

Edinburgh-based water retailer Business Stream, a subsidiary of state-owned Scottish Water, said on Friday it won a four-year contract worth up to £62 million with public…

Sports Direct said late on Thursday it has requisitioned a general meeting of Debenhams plc to appoint its CEO Mike Ashley to an executive role…

UPDATE 2 — Greggs, the Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer, said its sales rose 7.2% to a record £1.029 billion in 2018. Pre-tax profit excluding exceptional…

The Port of Tyne said it secured a £60 million refinancing package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking to support its investment programme. The five-year agreement,…

Deloitte said it has appointed Manchester-based Sharon Thorne as the designated incoming chair of the Deloitte global board of directors. Effective June 2019, Thorne will…

Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International Plc said on Monday it will offer to buy Hyde, Greater Manchester-based Findel plc in a deal that values the online…

Shares of Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group plc fell more than 20% on Friday after it published disappointing results for the 26 weeks to December 29,…

Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society said on Thursday its 2018 pre-tax profit rose 16% to £192.5 million as its gross mortgage lending increased 10% to a record…

Leeds Building Society said on Wednesday its mortgage balances increased 6% to £15.8 billion in 2018, with total assets rising 5% to £19.4 billion. Profit…

Newcastle Building Society said on Wednesday that “despite a very competitive mortgage market and weak mortgage market growth” its gross residential mortgage lending was maintained…

Skipton, the UK’s fourth largest building society, said on Wednesday its 2018 underlying profit before tax rose 12.3% to £186.1 million. Skipton increased its membership…

Shares of Merseyside-based Vimto and soft drinks firm Nichols plc rose 3% on Wednesday after it said 2018 revenue rose 7% to £142 million and…

Snaith, East Yorkshire-based speciality chemicals giant Croda International said its 2018 adjusted profit before tax rose 3.5% to £331.85 million, missing analysts estimates. Croda also…

Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group plc said on Tuesday its 2018 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 9% to £250 million,…

Barrow-in-Furness marine engineering services company James Fisher said on Tuesday its 2018 revenue increased 13% to £561.5 million and underlying profit before tax rose 15%…

Embattled York-based housebuilder Persimmon confirmed interim chief executive David Jenkinson as its CEO on Tuesday as it reported its revenue increased 4% to £3.74 billion…

The stock market value of North West England’s listed companies was hit by tough trading conditions in the last quarter of 2018 as the value…

Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial on Monday rejected an unsolicited £1.3 billion all-share offer from smaller rival Non-Standard Finance plc (NSF) as “irresponsible” and “highly…

Shares of troubled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial rose about 15% on Friday after it received an unsolicited £1.3 billion all-share offer from smaller rival…

Liverpool Football Club boosted the Liverpool City Region economy by £497 million gross value added (GVA) during the 2017-18 season, according to a report compiled…

Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group plc on Thursday announced that big changes will be taking place during 2019 on its board of directors. “The…

Shares of shopping center giant Intu Properties plc — which runs Manchester’s Trafford Centre, Newcastle’s Eldon Square, Gateshead’s Metrocentre and Glasgow’s Braehead — fell 8%…

UPDATE 3 — Shares of Sainsbury’s fell 15% on Wednesday after the UK’s competition regulator delivered a potentially fatal blow to its £7.3 billion proposed…

Shares of Greggs, the Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer, rose 11% on Tuesday after it reported an “exceptionally strong” start to 2019 boosted by publicity…

Walmart’s Leeds-based subsidiary Asda — currently preparing to be taken over by Sainsbury’s — on Tuesday reported a slowdown in the rate of underlying sales growth…

Associated British Ports (ABP) said it won a two-year contract with Belgium-based manufacturer VPK Packaging Group to handle 35,000 tonnes of paper per year at…

Shares of troubled Rochdale-based fashion retailer Footasylum soared about 80% on Monday after its close neighbour, Bury-based JD Sports Fashion, bought an 8.3% stake in Footasylum…

Carlisle-based aviation, energy and civil engineering firm Stobart Group on Friday claimed a High Court victory over its former CEO Andrew Tinkler, who had launched a…

Manchester United said on Thursday it posted record second-quarter revenue £208.6 million compared with £177.4 million a year earlier. The firm also said that for…

Shares of Chester-based price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com rose 6% on Thursday after it said 2018 revenue grew 8% to £355.6 million and pre-tax profit rose…

Shares of Sheffield-based affordable housebuilder MJ Gleeson plc rose 6% on Thursday after it said its revenue increased 19.4% to £88 million and profit before tax…

Shares of Leeds-based WYG, the international project management consultancy, plummeted 40% on Wednesday after it warned in a trading update its operating profit would not…

Turkish-born curator Fatos Üstek has been announced as the new Director of Liverpool Biennial. She will take up her position in May 2019. The 11th…

Chester-based identity data company GB Group (GBG) said it conditionally agreed to acquire IDology, a US-based provider of identity verification and fraud prevention services, for…

An expert panel chaired by Cambridge public policy professor Diane Coyle has unveiled the results of an independent prosperity review on the current state and future of…

An international Caribbean shipping service has started using multiple routes to the Port of Hull, handling thousands of tonnes of breakbulk and project cargo per…

Liverpool Football Club on Friday announced its annual financial results for the year to May 31, 2018, saying turnover increased £90 million to £455 million…

Newcastle-based house building giant Bellway on Thursday issued a trading update for the six months ended January 31, 2019, ahead of its interim results on…

Flintshire-based house builder Redrow said on Wednesday its revenue rose 9% to a first half record of £970 million and first half pre-tax profit rose 5% to a…

Shares of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG rose about 14% on Wednesday after it lifted its forecast for margin growth and reported a rise…

Nissan Motor Company announced on Sunday that its next-generation X-Trail for the European market will be produced in its Kyushu plant in Japan — not…

Salford-based broadband giant TalkTalk Telecom Group said on Friday it added 44,000 customers in its third quarter, taking its base to 4.29 million, while average…

Chesire-based NWF Group plc, the agricultural and distribution business that delivers feed, food and fuel across the UK, said on Tuesday half year revenue for…

Shares of Manchester-based soaps and consumer products company PZ Cussons fell 15% on Tuesday after it said it expects a decline in profit for the year ending May,…

Shares of Newcastle-based utility cost consultancy Utilitywise fell 65% after it announced a strategic review that will include a formal sale process of the company. “The strategic…

ScottishPower — a subsidiary of Basque energy giant Iberdrola — may compete against foreign infrastructure investment funds in the race to buy £2 billion Warrington-based electricity…

The world’s top 20 revenue-generating football clubs include four from the North West of England, according to the 22nd edition of the Deloitte Football Money…

Shares of Manchester-based cyber security company NCC Group fell about 30% on Thursday after it guided to lower full-year EBIT and said sales in the…

Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, accessories and veterinary services, said on January 22 it may consider increasing its inventory holdings by up…

Warrington-based robotic process automation (RPA) software firm Blue Prism said on Thursday it raised £100 million in a share placing as it revealed its revenue…

Sheffield-based Benchmark Holdings, the aquaculture health, genetics and nutrition firm, said its revenue rose 8% to £151.5 million in the year ended September 30, 2018,…

The stock market value of Manchester-based investment firm AJ Bell has soared to around £1.1 billion since its IPO last month. AJ Bell went public in…