Northern Financial Review

Leeds Building Society said its savings balances increased by a record £1.9 billion in 2017 and now exceed £13 billion. Leeds said it had strong…

Newcastle Building Society said its gross mortgage lending rose 8% to £535 million and net mortgage lending was up 11% to £220 million in 2017…

Rotherham and London-based electronics retailer Maplin Electronics Limited, owned by Rutland Partners, has gone into administration. Zelf Hussain, Toby Underwood and Ian Green of PwC have…

Skipton Building Society said its 2017 group profit before tax increased 18.5% to £200.1 million and the society continued to grow with a 58,657 increase in…

North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group said its 2017 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 64% to £229 million — more than analysts were…

Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer Greggs said its 2017 sales rose 7.4% to £960 million and pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items edged higher to £81.8 million from…

Shares of Edinburgh and Newcastle-based Virgin Money rose almost 6% after it said its underlying profit before tax increased 28% to £273.3 million in 2017 and total income…

York-based housebuilder Persimmon — still under shareholder fire for excessive executive compensation — said on Tuesday its 2017 revenue rose 9% to £3.42 billion and profit…

Shares of troubled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial rose about 70% on Tuesday after it announced a £331 million rights issue — a sale of shares —…

Leeds-based property investor and car park operator Town Centre Securities said its statutory profit before tax rose £9.8 million to £12.4 million for the six months ended…

York-based housebuilder Persimmon said on Friday it will partially reduce controversial bonuses for its top executives following shareholder outrage at the package that could have…

Stobart Group has address the recent speculation about a potential takeover of Flybe Group Plc by Stobart. In a stock exchange statement, Stobart Group said: “The…

Shares of Newcastle-based bus and rail group Go-Ahead Group rose 14% after it said revenue rose 6.6% to £1.8 billion and profit before tax rose 19%…

Shares of Chester-based price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com fell 15% after it said its earnings would not grow this year as it tries to reinvent itself…

Almost 90% of the money assigned to the Leeds City Region through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) has now been allocated to projects, according…

Walmart said its Leeds-based subsidiary Asda chalked up its fourth consecutive “step on” in sales, reporting like-for-like sales growth of 0.5% in the fourth quarter to December…

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons said it has acquired Flaxby, North Yorkshire-based Chippindale Foods, a supplier of free range eggs. “The acquisition means that Morrisons will make…

Manchester-based online fashion retailer N Brown announced the appointment of Tesco UK CEO Matt Davies as its chairman elect with immediate effect. Prior to Tesco, Davies…

Engineering giant Wood plc said it won UK Government backing “to bring space technology to nuclear decommissioning.” Wood said it is leading research to make nuclear…

Shares of Leeds-based leisure and logistics firm Dart Group, owner of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, rose 17% after it said in a trading update that it expects its underlying profit before…

More than 423,000 homes have been given planning permission across England and Wales but are still waiting to be built, according to new research published…

Edinburgh and Newcastle-based Virgin Money has confirmed the appointment of former HSBC executive Irene Dorner as chair elect of the challenger bank. The appointment helps create the…

Record levels of cargo were handled at Port of Sunderland in 2017. The municipally owned port saw a 13% uplift in tonnage passing through its…

The CEO of York-based housebuilder Persimmon said on Wednesday he would set up a charitable trust after facing fierce criticism over an incentive plan that…

Manchester Airport said it is edging closer to breaking the 28 million passenger number for the first time in its history. The UK’s third biggest…

EE, part of BT Group, has unveiled a new 4G home broadband product which could connect 580,000 homes across the UK, especially those in rural…

Newcastle-based house builder Bellway said in a trading update that its housing revenue is expected to rise by 14% to around £1.3 billion for the six months…

Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group plc announced the appointment of Rob Pitcher as its new chief executive Officer.   The joining date will be advised in due course. Pitcher has more…

Shares of Flintshire-based house builder Redrow rose more than 5% after it said its revenue rose 20% to a record £890 million and pre-tax profit soared 26% to…

Stock markets around the world continued to fall on Tuesday for a fourth successive day of declines — a rout that has seen $4 trillion…

Blackburn-based EG Group announced a major petrol forecourt convenience retail expansion in the United States by agreeing to buy a 762-site network from The Kroger Co….

York-based house building giant Persimmon is under heavy pressure from some of its major shareholders to oust its CEO Jeff Fairburn unless he agrees to give…

Stock markets fell around the world on Monday and bond yields rose as US inflation increased the possibility that global central banks may tighten policy…

Manchester-based Co-operative Bank plc said it will appoint Bob Dench as chairman effective March 14, 2018, succeeding Dennis Holt who is retiring in May 2018….

Shares of troubled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial rose 7% on Friday after it announced the appointment of Malcolm Le May as CEO with immediate effect….

Johnston Press — owner of The Yorkshire Post, The Scotsman, the i newspaper and about 200 local newspapers and websites — said in a trading update…

Shares of Sheffield-based European building products distributor SIG plc fell 5% after it said it “identified a historical overstatement of profit relating to the year ended…

Bury-based JD Sports Fashion said it received unconditional clearance from the European Commission for the combination of its existing interests across Iberia with those of…

Manchester-based soaps and consumer products company PZ Cussons said its adjusted operating profit fell 10.3% to £37.5 million despite revenue rising 1.9% to £385.4 million in the six months to…

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday it will publish in full a report it commissioned on how a controversial unit of Royal Bank of…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said it saw strong mortgage growth of 7.4% to £23.9 billion in the three months to December 31, 2017 — but…

Shares of Crewe-based alcohol wholesaler and distributor Conviviality Plc — which owns Bargain Booze and Wine Rack — fell 11% on Monday after it said revenue for the 26 weeks…

Precision instruments maker Spectris plc said it completed the acquisition of Manchester-based Concept Life Sciences from Equistone Partners Europe and company management for about £163…

Durham-based Atom bank, the UK’s first bank designed exclusively for mobile technology, said founder Anthony Thomson has announced his resignation as chair of Atom. Bridget…

Sheffield-based Benchmark Holdings, the aquaculture health, nutrition and genetics company, said its revenue increased 28% to £140.2 million in the year to September 30, 2017, and its loss for…

US buyout fund KKR is to sell its remaining 12.3% stake in Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, accessories and veterinary services. Pets…

Shares of Newcastle-based software giant Sage Group fell more than 6% after investors were left underwhelmed with its trading update for the three months to December…

Manchester United retained its top spot for a second consecutive year in the Deloitte Football Money League, generating total revenue of €676 million (£581 million). Real…

Shares of Manchester-based fashion retailer N Brown Group — whose brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo — fell about 12% after it cut its…

Shares of Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, accessories and veterinary services, rose about 9% after it reported revenue growth of 9.6% to…

Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group plc said its revenue for the 26 weeks to December 30, 2017, rose 10.6% to £73.7 million. Revolution said four new venues…

Shares of Wakefield-based Bonmarché, the discount fashion retailer aimed at women over 50, fell 17% after it said sales for the 13 weeks ended December 30…

Shares of troubled Bradford-based subprime lender Provident Financial fell 13% on Tuesday after it said its consumer credit division (CCD) is expected to report a pre-exceptional…

Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail said its total sales revenue increased 22.9% to £969.8 million in the quarter ended December 23. B&M CEO Simon Arora said: “B&M continues to…

Shares of Wakefield-based greeting cards retailer Card Factory fell about 17% after it predicted lower core earnings for the current year. Card Factory said said it now…

Rotherham-based fishing tackle retailer Fishing Republic said acting CEO Chris Griffin will leave the firm and chairman James Newman will assume the role of executive chairman until…

Manchester-based online fashion giant Boohoo.com plc said revenue growth for its current financial year is now expected to be around 90%, ahead of its previous guidance…

Bolton-based European online electrical retailer AO World said its group revenue was up 16.6% for the three months to December 31, 2017, year on year. In a trading update for…

UPDATE 1 — Sheffield-based European building products distributor SIG plc said its 2017 revenue from continuing operations increased 7.5% to about £2.8 billion. SIG also said it has…

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons said its like-for-like (LFL) sales excluding fuel for the 10 weeks to January 7 were up 2.8% “comprising contributions from retail of 2.1% and wholesale of…

York-based house builder Persimmon plc said 2017 revenues rose 9% to £3.42 billion and its average selling price increased by 3% to £213,300. “We anticipate…

The UK government has announced ambitious plans to create a new “Northern Forest” along the M62 corridor from Liverpool to Hull. Over the next 25…

York-based Gear4music, the online retailer of musical instruments and equipment, said in a trading update for the four months to December 31, 2017, that sales rose 42%…

Scunthorpe-based Nisa Retail, currently being acquired by Manchester-based Co-op Group, said its sales rose 17.7% to £277 million over the Christmas period — the 10 weeks…

Newcastle-based Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said it exchanged contracts with Abode Hallam Limited and agreed to forward fund and acquire a private…

The Co-op has announced plans to open 100 new food stores across the UK in 2018, creating 1,600 jobs. The Manchester-based community retailer will invest…

UK car manufacturing fell 4.6% in November, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Production for the UK home market…

Hitachi Rail Europe said production has started on new intercity trains for northern England, Scotland and the TransPennine Express. It said 19 new five-carriage trains harnessing Japanese…

Shares of North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group fell more than 4% after it said biomass deliveries are currently restricted after an unplanned outage on the rail unloading facilities…