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…
Persimmon H1 revenue up 12% to £1.6bn
York-based house builder Persimmon said its revenue grew 12% to £1.66 billion in the six months to June 30 and that “consumer confidence remains resilient…
Virgin Money launches Manchester United bond
Virgin Money has launched a new “Manchester United Double Champions Bond” that it says offers savers a competitive interest rate of 1% fixed for one year…
Sheffield’s Sumo Digital buys Gateshead’s Atomhawk
Sheffield-based gaming giant Sumo Digital announced the acquisition of Gateshead-based digital art and design studio Atomhawk. Sumo Digital is backed by investment firm Perwyn. Terms of…
UKW buys Grimsby wind farm for £47m
Greencoat UK Wind plc (UKW) said it acquired Bishopthorpe Wind Farm near Grimsby from BayWa r.e. for about £47 million. Bishopthorpe has a capacity of…
Liberty House acquires Scunthorpe steel mills
Sanjeev Gupta’s metals and industrials group Liberty House has added to its network of UK steelworks with a deal to acquire 100% of the share…
Go-ahead for Sunderland seafront development
A major plan to breathe new life into Sunderland’s seafront has been given outline permission by the city council. A planning application from regeneration business…
£180m West Yorkshire transport plan approved
More than £180 million of investment in West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund schemes in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield was approved at Thursday’s meeting…
Leeds United buys back Elland Road Stadium
Leeds United announced that Greenfield Investment Pte Ltd, parent company of Leeds United Football Club Limited, has bought back Elland Road Stadium. The stadium will…
Co-op Bank agrees complex £700m rescue package
The troubled Manchester-based Co-operative Bank said on Wednesday it agreed a complex £700 million rescue package with its major investors that would shore up its…
Northgate shares fall as UK vehicle rentals slow
Shares of Darlington-based vehicle hire company Northgate Plc fell 16% after it said its profit before tax fell about 7% to £72.2 million in the year…
Findel revenue £457m; charges lead to £59m loss
Shares of Hyde-based online retailer Findel plc fell 4.5% after it said its revenue rose 11.3% to £457 million in the 53 weeks to March 31 — but…
Co-op Bank scraps sale to focus on raising capital
Troubled Manchester-based Co-operative Bank said on Monday it has dropped plans for a sale and will continue its “advanced” discussions with a group of existing investors…
17% drop in farm workers amid Brexit fallout
A new survey by the National Farmers Union (NFU) has shown that amid confusion over the UK’s Brexit strategy, numbers of seasonal workers coming to…
Salford hires architects for campus masterplan
The University of Salford and Salford City Council have selected 5plus Architects as master planners to create a development framework for the university’s estate and a…
IPO for Chesire’s Tatton Asset Management
Cheshire-based financial advisory company Tatton Asset Management announced its intention to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange. Tatton said…
Leeds’ Callcredit buys Spain’s Confirma group
Leeds-based Callcredit Information Group, which is backed by private equity firm GTCR, has acquired the Spanish Confirma group of companies — comprising Confirma Sistemas and Soluciones…
Doncaster Sheffield ‘fastest growing airport’
Doncaster Sheffield Airport said it has become the country’s fastest growing airport. It said the latest Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures showed the airport had…
Liverpool Region visitor economy worth £4.3bn
Liverpool City Region’s visitor economy is now worth £4.3 billion, last year welcomed more than 62 million visitors to the region and supports more than…
Centrica to close gas facility off Yorkshire coast
British Gas owner Centrica said it would close its ageing Rough facility off the Yorkshire coast, the UK’s largest natural gas storage site. Analysts said the…
N Brown shares up amid online growth, store closures
Shares of Manchester-based fashion retailer N Brown Group rose about 8% after it said in a trading statement its product revenue rose 10.2% in the…
Co-op Bank confirms ‘advanced’ rescue deal talks
Manchester-based Co-operative Bank on Monday confirmed that it is in “advanced discussions with a group of existing investors with a view to a prospective equity…
Bonmarché profit falls 39% in ‘challenging’ year
Wakefield-based Bonmarché, the discount fashion retailer aimed at women over 50, said pre-tax profit fell 39.4% to £5.8 million in the 53 weeks to April…
Australia’s IFM takes wheel with M6 toll acquisition
IFM Investors, the Australian pension fund-owned investment manager, said it acquired a controlling majority stake in the outstanding commercial debt of the UK’s M6 toll…
DFS falls 20% as it blames election for profit warning
Shares of Doncaster-based furniture retail company DFS fell more than 20% after it blamed “customer uncertainty regarding the general election” for a profit warning in a…
Bellway shares up amid ‘robust market conditions’
Shares of Newcastle-based house builder Bellway plc rose on Wednesday after it issued a trading statement saying it enjoyed a 13% increase in its reservation rate…
Severfield profit doubles as revenue hits £262m
Thirsk, North Yorkshire-based steel group Severfield said its profit before tax nearly doubled to £18.1 million on revenue up 10% to £262.2 million in the…
North West exports up 21% to £8bn in first quarter
The fall of the pound helped the value of exported goods by companies in the North West of England rise 21% to £8 billion in the three months…
Boardroom changes at fashion firm Boohoo
Manchester-based fashion giant Boohoo.com said that after four years with the company Stephen Morana will step down as a non-executive director on July 1, 2017….
Billings hit £404m at gift card firm Park; CEO to retire
Birkenhead-based prepaid gift, reward and savings card firm Park Group said it achieved a 5.1% advance in billings to £404.5 million in the year to…
Fashion group N Brown’s chairman to step down
Manchester-based specialist fit fashion retailer N Brown Group — whose brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo — said its chairman Andrew Higginson intends to step down…
Leeds office take-up set for record year – Savills
Office take-up in Leeds is on track to reach 800,000 square feet by the end of 2017, which would be 94% above the 2016 total…
Manchester Airport ‘third worst’ despite record May
New routes helped Manchester Airport have its busiest May on record with 2.5 million passengers passing through its terminals, an increase of 12%. However, despite…
Nisa Retail hires Lazard to explore sale – report
Scunthorpe-based Nisa Retail, the member-owned convenience store group, is exploring a sale, according to a report on Sky News. The report said bankers from Lazard have…
Boohoo stock jumps after 106% rise in revenue
Manchester-based online fashion retailer Boohoo.com said its revenue soared 106% to £120.1 million in the three months to May 31, 2017. The company said it now expects revenue growth of…
Print and web group Grafenia reports near £1m loss
Manchester-based print and web design company Grafenia, owner of Nettl web studios, is finding things tough. The company said it had a pre-tax loss of £990,000 in…
Revenue up 19% to £249m at Harrogate’s Vp
Harrogate-based specialist equipment rental group Vp plc said revenue grew 19% to £248.7 million and statutory profit before tax rose to £30.3 million from £27.5 million in the…