Newcastle’s Grainger buys £80m Salford development
Newcastle-based Grainger plc, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, said it agreed, subject to planning, to acquire a private rented sector (PRS) build-to-rent development at Gore…
Provident re-hires Gillespie to fix home credit
Shares of troubled sub-prime lender Provident Financial Group rebounded 20% on Friday after it announced it re-hired former executive Chris Gillespie as managing director of its home…
Leeds-based Jet2.com creates 1,700 jobs
Jet2.com — owned by Leeds-based leisure and logistics firm Dart Group — has announced a major recruitment drive with roadshows taking place across the UK to…
Provident shares fall ‘catastrophic’ 70% amid profit warning, CEO departure, suspended dividend, FCA probe
Shares of sub-prime lender Provident Financial plummeted more than 70% after it issued a second profit warning in roughly two months and said its CEO Peter…
Persimmon first half profit up 30% to £457m
York-based house builder Persimmon said its revenue rose 12% to £1.66 billion and profit before tax increased 30% to £457.4 million in the first-half of…
TSK to create Kellogg’s HQ at MediaCityUK
Kellogg’s said it appointed workplace specialist TSK to create its new 46,000-square foot UK headquarters in MediaCityUK in Manchester. “The appointment comes as last month…
Asda hails first quarterly sales rise in three years
Walmart said its Leeds-based subsidiary Asda reported a positive quarterly sales figure for the first time in three years for the April 1 to June 30 period. Asda said…
Lookers revenue £2.5bn, but shares fall on outlook
Manchester-based Lookers plc, the UK’s biggest car dealership, said its revenue increased 5% to £2.46 billion in the six months to June 30, but its share price…
£160m Sellafield contract for Amec, Interserve
OneAIM, a joint venture between Amec Foster Wheeler and Interserve, has won a four-year £160 million contract to support reprocessing plants and facilities at the…
Revolution Bars rebuffs Deltic amid Stonegate bid
Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group on Tuesday rejected a merger approach from nightclub company Deltic Group and said it would continue to discuss a £100 million takeover…
Yorkshire & Humber ‘has fastest growing output’
Yorkshire & Humber became the fastest growing region in England and Wales in terms of output in July, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Regional…
OK for Leeds Beckett £75m creative arts building
Leeds Beckett University said it has received planning permission for its new £75 million Creative Arts building. The university said the 14,500 sq m development…
DFS Furniture shares plunge on lower revenues
Shares of Doncaster-based DFS Furniture plunged as much as 7% after it said revenues for the second half of its financial year were 4% lower than the…
Co-op Bank loses 25k customers amid £135m loss
Manchester-based Co-operative Bank said on Thursday its losses before tax narrowed to £135.2 million in the six months to June 30, 2017, from £177 million…
Mace in for £330m Manchester Town Hall revamp
International construction firm Mace said it has been appointed as the project manager for the £330 million repair and upgrade project at Manchester’s iconic Town Hall…
Revenue up to £242 million at Doncaster’s Polypipe
Doncaster-based plastic piping and ventilation systems manufacturer Polypipe Group plc said its revenue rose 8.4% to £242 million and profit before tax rose 5.3% to £31.5 million in the six…
H1 revenue at Sheffield’s SIG up 4.7% to £1.44bn
Sheffield-based European building products distributor SIG said its statutory revenue rose 4.7% to £1.44 billion in the six months to June 30 but it made a statutory…
Bellway expects housing revenue +13% to £2.5bn
Newcastle-based house builder Bellway said in a trading update it expects its housing revenue to increase by more than 13% to £2.5 billion for the…
Pets At Home Q1 revenue rises 5% to £256.5m
Shares of Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, accessories and veterinary services, rose about 8% after it said its revenue grew 5% to…
Leeds Building Society savings balances hit £12.5bn
Leeds Building Society said strong mortgage growth drove a 9% increase in profit before tax to a record £63.2 million in the first half of 2017….
Tilney acquires £162m assets of Manchester’s Midas
Investment and financial planning group Tilney announced an agreement to acquire the assets of Manchester-based private client investment management and advisory business Midas Investment Management….
Swiss bank Julius Baer opens in Manchester, Leeds
Swiss private bank Julius Baer said it is opening new offices in Manchester, Leeds and Glasgow and it has hired a number of experienced relationship…
DFS shares up as it buys Sofology and refinances
Shares of Doncaster-based DFS Furniture rose almost 5% after it said it agreed to buy Golborne-based sofa retailer Sofology Limited and announced an agreement to refinance its existing borrowings. DFS…
B&M in £152m deal to buy Heron Food Group
Liverpool-based B&M European Value Retail said it is acquiring East Yorkshire-based discount convenience retailer Heron Food Group Limited for up to £152 million. Heron operates predominantly…
Yorkshire Building Society H1 profit slips to £92.3m
Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society said it increased its core operating profit by 35% to £84.2 million in the first half of 2017 but its profit before…
North West firms’ market value up 5% to £43.7bn
UPDATE 1 — The North West’s listed companies added £2.1 billion to their stock market values in the second quarter of 2017, according to Deloitte….
Skipton savings balances up to £14.6 billion
Skipton Building Society said it increased its membership by almost 26,000 to more than 886,000 and recorded a 19% increase in underlying group profit before tax…
Stonegate in £100m offer for Revolution Bars
Manchester-based Revolution Bars Group plc said it received a conditional proposal from Slug & Lettuce owner Stonegate Pub Company Limited to acquire Revolution “on a recommended…
Feed, food and fuel firm NWF revenue soars to £556m
Chesire-based NWF Group plc, the agricultural and distribution business that delivers feed, food and fuel across the UK, said revenue rose 19.3% to £555.8 million,…
Greggs plans ‘Drive-Thrus’ as H1 sales rise to £453m
Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer Greggs said its sales for the 26 weeks to July 1, 2017, grew 7.3% to £453 million, with like-for-like sales in…
McColl’s deal to take Morrisons wholesale to £1bn
Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons announced a long-term wholesale supply initiative with convenience retailer McColl’s which it said will take its wholesale supply sales eventually to more than…
Shares of Yorkshire Bank owner soar after trading update
UPDATE 2 — Shares of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG rose about 9% after it announced a positive trading update for the three months…
Stobart aircraft leasing buys three jets for $56m
Stobart Group said its aircraft leasing business Propius Limited signed an agreement with a special purpose company managed by GOAL German Operating Aircraft Leasing to…
Bonmarché sales boosted by online success
Wakefield-based Bonmarché, the discount fashion retailer aimed at women over 50, said its total sales for the 13 weeks ended July 1, 2017, increased by…
Endless leads buyout at Antler luggage firm
The Manchester office of private equity firm Endless has backed a management buyout of British upmarket luggage company Antler. Antler CEO David Sharman will continue…
Provident Financial profits fall 45% amid agent woes
Bradford-based home credit firm Provident Financial said its first half statutory profit before tax fell 45.6% to £90 million amid ongoing problems with its move from using self-employed…
Cussons profit up 5% despite Nigeria currency woes
Manchester-based soaps and consumer products company PZ Cussons said its reported revenue fell 1.5% to £809.2 million but statutory profit before tax rose 5% to £88 million…
Newcastle’s Sage buys cloud firm Intacct for $850m
Newcastle-based Sage Group, the UK’s largest tech company, said it agreed to acquire San Jose-based Intacct Corporation, a provider of cloud financial management products in North America…
Board moves as Virgin Money H1 profit hits £128m
UPDATE 1 — Edinburgh and Newcastle-based challenger bank Virgin Money Holdings on Tuesday announced changes to its board and said underlying profit before tax rose 26%…
‘Rail electrification U-turn would derail Powerhouse’
UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has been criticised after supporting London’s multi-billion Crossrail 2 plans just days after hinting that rail electrification plans for northern…
£1bn Manchester Airport expansion under way
The UK Government unveiled plans to develop a new UK Aviation Strategy as a £1 billion programme to double the size of Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 was…
Sports Direct profit slumps, but outlook lifts shares
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct International said its reported profit before tax fell 22.2% to £281.6 million in the year ended April 30, 2017, but the firm’s shares…
Manchester’s 101 Embankment sold for £105m
The Manchester office development 101 Embankment has been sold to M&G Real Estate for £105 million. 101 Embankment, the new headquarters of UK insurer Swinton,…
Drax makes £83m loss amid coal asset depreciation
Shares of Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group fell more than 3% on Wednesday after it said “increases to depreciation and amortisation costs and unrealised…
£1bn plan unveiled to transform Bolton town centre
A £1 billion plan has been unveiled to regenerate Bolton town centre, with Bolton Council promising to provide £100 million of the funding. The council…
London Midland extension for Newcastle’s Go-Ahead
Newcastle-based transport group Go-Ahead Group said the Department for Transport (DfT) announced an eight-week extension to its current London Midland franchise, from 15 October to…
Legal move as Gateshead’s Sevcon bought for $200m
Nasdaq-listed Gateshead company Sevcon, which makes components for low carbon vehicles, said it agreed to be acquired by Michigan-based BorgWarner for $22 per share in cash. “The total…
UK firms pay record £33bn dividends in Q2
UK companies distributed an all-time record £33.3 billion in dividends in the second quarter, beating the previous record of £29.1 billion set in Q2 last…
Balfour Beatty, Carillion win HS2 contracts
Infrastructure and construction group Balfour Beatty said that it was awarded two contracts by High Speed 2 (HS2) — the UK’s planned high speed rail…
High speed rail confirmed for north of England
UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed plans to extend Britain’s HS2 high speed rail lines from Birmingham to the North-West, East Midlands and Yorkshire. The…
Peel starts phase two of £400m Liverpool2 terminal
Peel Ports Group, owner of the Port of Liverpool, said it “pressed the button” on the second phase of its expansion programme at the Liverpool2…
Revenue tops £200m at Leeds-based Callcredit
Leeds-based Callcredit Information Group reported record results and launched a new identity “designed to position the business for continued growth both in the UK and…
Education spurs Manchester fashion boom
Move over London, Paris and New York — Manchester is catching up fast as an international fashion business hub. Manchester is now home to a…
Endless buys corporate travel firm CTI
Leeds-based private equity investor Endless LLP said it acquired a majority stake in Manchester-based business travel management company CTI for an undisclosed sum. The deal,…
€1.6bn Dutch rail contract for Sunderland’s Arriva
Sunderland-based passenger transport giant Arriva — part of Deutsche Bahn — announced it will operate the regional rail transport in the north of the Netherlands for another 15…
Employees get ownership at Manchester’s Tangerine
Manchester-based communication company Tangerine said that it will place 64% of its shares into an employee ownership trust. The announcement comes as the company celebrates…
N Brown takes £40m hit for ‘flawed’ insurance
Shares of Manchester-based fashion retailer N Brown Group fell almost 4% after it announced that it “identified flaws in certain general insurance products which were…
Dart revenue £1.73bn, but shares fall amid Brexit fear
Leeds-based leisure and logistics firm Dart Group said its revenue rose 23% to £1.73 billion in the year to March 31 but profit before tax fell…
Manchester Airports Group revenue up to £838m
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) said its revenue rose 7.7% to £838.4 million and operating profit before significant items rose 9.1% to £210.2 million in the 12 months ended March…
Tesco-Booker deal to face in-depth investigation
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that the proposed merger between Tesco and Booker is being referred for an in-depth, phase 2 investigation. The CMA said…
£100m Manchester Airport logistics plan under way
Icon Industrial, a logistics-focused joint venture formed by TPG Real Estate and Stoford Developments, said it acquired a 45-acre brownfield site adjacent to Manchester Airport…
Lake District wins World Heritage List status
Cumbria’s Lake District has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. “Located in northwest England, the English Lake District is a mountainous area, whose valleys have…
Cochrane becomes interim CEO Of Carillion
Construction and outsourcing firm Carillion said on Monday it appointed Keith Cochrane — former chief executive of Stagecoach and Weir Group — as its interim…
Cheshire and Warrington LEP aims for £50bn GDP
Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has launched a new blueprint for the area’s economic growth setting out how Cheshire and Warrington can double…
Digital bank Atom confirms future in Durham
Atom bank, the UK’s first digital only bank, has confirmed its future in Durham by signing a 10-year lease on the city’s Rivergreen Centre. Atom…
CBI: ‘Stay in single market until Brexit deal’
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has warned that the UK needs to stay inside the single market and customs union until a final Brexit…
Hepworth Wakefield is Art Fund Museum of Year
The Hepworth Wakefield in West Yorkshire has been chosen as Art Fund Museum of the Year 2017. The £100,000 prize that goes with the award…
Sales up 23% to £500m at Yorkshire’s NG Bailey
West Yorkshire-based NG Bailey, the family-owned engineering, IT and facilities services firm, said its sales increased 23% to £500 million and operating profit doubled from £6…
Manchester global city plan ‘adds £2.2bn to economy’
Leaders from the private and public sectors have joined together to launch the Greater Manchester Internationalisation Strategy, a three year framework for action which they…
Kier to build £70m Nuffield hospital in Manchester
Construction company Kier has been appointed to build a £70 million private hospital in Manchester for not-for-profit healthcare provider Nuffield Health. The investment by Nuffield…