Northern Financial Review

Leeds-based supermarket giant Asda announced it appointed former Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Rose as chairman and Alison Carnwath as a non-executive director, effective December 1….

Newcastle’s Pilgrim’s Quarter, part of the Pilgrim Street development, is set to become the new home for the UK’s HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in…

Shares of Bodycote, the Macclesfield-based heat treatment and thermal processing giant, rose about 4% on Tuesday despite it publishing a trading update covering the four-month period…

Severfield, the Thirsk, North Yorkshire-based steel group, said on Tuesday its first-half revenue rose 5% to £195.9 million and underlying profit before tax was up…

Hull-based meat processing giant Cranswick said on Tuesday its first-half revenue rose 6.6% to £993.1 million and profit before tax jumped 17.7% to £63.2 million…

Wilmslow-based pet and vet retailer Pets at Home Group said on Tuesday its first-half revenue grew 18% to £677.6 million as membership of its “Puppy…

Shares of Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World plc fell another 17% on Tuesday after it cut its profit outlook and warned about “meaningful supply chain…

Durham-based digital lender Atom bank said on Tuesday it has become the largest company in the UK to introduce a four-day working week and reduced…

British Business Investments, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of the Sheffield-based British Business Bank plc, has published its annual report for 2020-21 showing a record number of 18…

Helena Morrissey, chair-elect of Salford investment giant AJ Bell, has said cryptocurrency investing is “just like a casino really at this point, or it might…

Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said on Monday it has promoted Eliza Pattinson to Director of Investments (Asset Management) and that Steven Clark is…

Leeds-based Jet2 plc said on Friday that executive chairman Philip Meeson sold 1.55 million shares at £11.1389 per share on November 18 and sold 450,000 shares at…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is to significantly increase its presence outside London with the establishment of offices in Manchester and Darlington. Manchester…

Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said on Friday it appointed Michelle Boothroyd as its Chief People Officer. “Michelle was previously People Director at Nationwide,…

Salford-based investment giant AJ Bell plc announced some changes to its board on Friday and said it will keep the board composition under review to ensure…

Chesire-based international veterinary drugs giant Dechra Pharmaceuticals announced that following a comprehensive search process Alison Platt will be appointed as its chair with effect from January 1,…

Flutter Entertainment plc — the Dublin-based owner of Paddy Power, Betfair and Fanduel — has acquired Sunderland-based Tombola, one of the UK’s leading online bingo…

Sheffield-based property investment and construction group Henry Boot plc said on Thursday it has secured a £47 million urban development scheme, The Cocoa Works, in…

The UK government has broken a promise to link Leeds and London as part of its new £96 billion high-speed rail network HS2. The axing of…

Chester-based identity data company GB Group (GBG) said on Thursday it conditionally agreed to acquire Los Angeles-based Acuant, a US identity verification and identity fraud prevention…

Shares of Leeds-based Jet2 fell about 7% on Thursday after its results for the half year ended September 30, 2021, showed a loss before taxation of…

Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said on Thursday its profit before tax rose 53% to £152.1 million in the year to September 30….

Harrogate-based IT firm Redcentric Plc said on Thursday it appointed Nick Bate as independent non-executive chairman of the company, chairman of the nomination committee and a…

Shares of Speedy Hire plc, the Newton-le-Willows-based tools and equipment hire firm, rose 6% on Wednesday after it published results for the six months to September…

Newcastle-headquartered Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, announced on Wednesday it has acquired two sites in Exeter and Sheffield for direct development build-to-rent opportunities, totalling…

Zetland Capital Partners LLP, a London based private equity firm, has announced its funds have agreed to acquire the 338-bedroom Macdonald Manchester Hotel and the…

Shares of Sage Group, the Newcastle-based international SME accounting software giant, rose about 10% on Wednesday after it published results for the year ended September…

Shares of Warrington-based software robot firm Blue Prism Group rose about 9% to around £12.24 on Tuesday after it received a preliminary approach from Connecticut-based financial…

Shares of Greater Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group plc fell about 8% on Tuesday after it published results for the 53 weeks ended July 3, 2021,…

Shares of York-based online musical equipment retailer Gear4music fell about 15% on Tuesday after it said “Brexit related supply chain challenges are persisting for longer…

Bradford-based supermarket giant Morrisons has announced it will become the first supermarket to own its own recycling operations through the acquisition of a significant stake…

B&M European Value Retail S.A. said on Monday said it intends to sell £250 million of sterling-denominated senior secured notes due 2028. FTSE 100 constituent B&M…

Sheffield-based affordable housebuilder MJ Gleeson plc reported that Gleeson Homes has a land pipeline of 15,384 plots with a gross development value of £2.4 billion as it…

Salford-based fashion firm In The Style on Friday announced big changes to its leadership team with Sam Perkins hired from The Very Group as the company’s…

Flintshire-based house building giant Redrow plc said on Friday its total forward order book is a record £1.51 billion and it expects turnover for 2022 to be…

Assura plc, the Warrington-based healthcare real estate investment trust (REIT), said on Thursday it raised around £182 million — below and expected £190 million — via a…

Shares of B&M European Value Retail fell almost 5% on Thursday as it reported that like-for-like sales at its core UK business were down 8.9%…

Shares of Manchester-based FTSE 100 firm Auto Trader Group plc rose about 14% on Thursday after it announced it achieved its highest ever six-monthly revenue…

Leeds-based transport data analytics firm Tracsis plc said on Wednesday its revenue rose 4.7% to £50.2 million in the year to July 31, 2021, and profit…

More than 3,000 civil servants are to be relocated to a new £100 million office development in Blackpool town centre. The Department for Work and…

Shares of Manchester industrial chain and power transmission firm Renold plc rose about 7% on Wednesday after it said its revenue rose 17% to £95.3…

International independent videogame firm Cloud Imperium Games — developer of Star Citizen and Squadron 42 — has announced it will open a new game development…

Rotherham-based property and land regeneration firm Harworth Group plc announced it has conditionally exchanged contracts for the sale of its Kellingley development site in Selby,…

York-based house building giant Persimmon plc said on Tuesday it has £1.15 billion of forward sales reserved beyond the current year (2019: £0.95bn) and that it expects…

By Mark McSherry Edinburgh-based investment giant Abrdn has confirmed it is in talks to buy Manchester-based online broker Interactive Investor, with analysts speculating the price…

Shares of Wakefield-based greeting card and gift retailer Card Factory rose about 11% on Monday after it published a strong trading update. “Further to the…

Matthew Moulding, founder and CEO of Manchester e-commerce, beauty and nutrition giant THG plc, told GQ magazine in an interview he should have listed the company…

Bury-based FTSE 100 retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc issued a stock exchange statement on Monday refuting any “corporate governance breaches” after newspaper reports of a…

Shares of Merseyside-based Vimto and soft drinks firm Nichols plc rose about 7% on Friday after it published a strong trading update for the first nine…

Shares of Gateshead-based Vertu Motors plc rose about 3% on Friday after it announced it plans to start a new £3 million stock buyback programme once the…

Sheffield-based international building materials supplier SIG plc said on Friday it has successfully priced its sale of €300 million of 5.25% fixed rate senior secured notes…

Salford-based investment giant AJ Bell plc has announced its chair-elect Helena Morrissey is to lead a campaign called AJ Bell Money Matters to help more…

Manchester-based Co-operative Bank — recently rebuffed by Spain’s Banco Sabadell in an audacious £1 billion approach for its TSB Bank subsidiary — on Friday posted a third…

Professional services firm Progeny has announced the acquisition of Guiseley, Yorkshire-based financial advisers J M Glendinning Financial Services. Glendinning was established in 1987 and specialises in…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday it has instructed Bury-based FTSE 100 retailer JD Sports Fashion Plc to sell Rochdale-based Footasylum…

Landsec announced on Wednesday it has acquired a majority stake in MediaCity, the 37-acre media, digital and tech hub in Salford, Greater Manchester previously owned…

Wilmslow-based pet and vet retailer Pets at Home Group said on Wednesday that its CEO Peter Pritchard has “agreed with the board that he intends to…

Barrow-in-Furness international marine engineering company James Fisher and Sons plc announced the sale of James Fisher Testing Services (JFTS) from its marine support division for…

Rolls-Royce and Qatar Foundation have announced they will enter into a long-term partnership to create a global centre for climate technology innovation — and construct…

Shares of Wetherby-based diagnostics company Avacta Group plc fell about 9% on Tuesday after it said it has suspended further sales of its AffiDX SARS-CoV-2 Lateral…

BlackRock, the second-largest shareholder in troubled Manchester e-commerce, beauty and nutrition giant THG plc, is selling nearly half its stake in the company at a 10%…

Renewable infrastructure fund Greencoat UK Wind plc (UKW) has agreed to acquire a 25% stake in Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm near Liverpool from…

Funds managed by Blackrock are selling about 55 million shares in troubled Manchester-based e-commerce, beauty and nutrition giant THG plc, Reuters reported, citing a bookrunner. Blackrock…

Sheffield-based international building materials supplier SIG plc said on Monday it has mandated bookrunners to carry out roadshows for a proposed debt offering of €300 million…

Alderley Park-based Redx Pharma, the drug discovery and development company focused on oncology and fibrosis, announced the appointment of Jane Griffiths as its non-executive chair,…

A US national security panel — the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) — is investigating the £919 million takeover of Sheffield-based video…

Manchester Airport said on Friday it will become the first airport in the UK to have a direct sustainable jet fuel supply through partnership with…

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Friday it has opened an investigation into the £7 billion cash purchase of Bradford-based supermarket giant Morrisons by…

UK finance minister Rishi Sunak has announced £660 million of government funding for the second Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), to be delivered by the…

Harrogate-based IT firm Redcentric Plc said on Wednesday it continues to make progress on mergers and acquisitions prospecting “with several active conversations underway, a growing pipeline…