Northern Financial Review

Leeds-based Asda, a subsidiary of US retail giant Walmart, said its comparable sales declined 2.9% in the fourth quarter ending December 31, excluding petrol. But the figures showed an…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said late on Monday that it notified Royal Bank of Scotland that it has withdrawn its preliminary non-binding proposal for,…

Leeds-based car leasing and fleet management firm Zenith said its new owner Bridgepoint acquired Contract Vehicles Holdings Limited group (CVL) from its shareholders “as Zenith builds the…

Rotherham-based fishing tackle retailer Fishing Republic, which had an IPO in 2015, issued a trading update for the financial year to December 31 and said its website sales…

North Wales-based firm Qioptiq has won a new £82 million contract with the UK’s Ministry of Defence. “The deal with Qioptiq in St Asaph, North Wales, will see…

Dutch multinational firm AkzoNobel — owner of brands including Dulux and Polyfilla — said it will develop a new €12.6 million research and innovation hub at…

Unilever and Kraft Heinz announced in a joint statement on Sunday that Kraft Heinz “has amicably agreed to withdraw its proposal for a combination of…

UK-Dutch consumer goods giant Unilever — owner of brands including Dove, Flora, Hellmans, PG Tips, Knorr and Persil — rejected a potential offer of around $143 billion from The Kraft…

Student accommodation developer Unite Group plc said it would sell 13 properties comprising 4,175 beds to a Brookfield-managed fund for £295 million, with Unite’s share of the deal…

Swiss company Stadler said it signed a deal with Merseytravel worth up to £700 million to build and maintain 52 metro trains on the Merseyrail network…

Shares of Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group fell more than 5% on Thursday after it said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)…

Cairngorm Capital Partners LLP announced a further investment in its Halifax-based trade window and door manufacturer Polyframe Group to facilitate Polyframe’s acquisition of Gloucester-based Customade Group. Cairngorm said…

New York-based organic and natural products giant Hain Celestial Group said one of its wholly-owned subsidiaries agreed to buy North Yorkshire-based soup company Yorkshire Provender for…

Real estate advisors Colliers International said take-up of prime office space in Manchester reached its highest level for seven years in the final quarter of…

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said the Second City Crossing new tram line — the final piece in Manchester Metrolink’s £1.5 billion ‘big bang’ expansion programme —…

Durham-based international coal distribution and industrial logistics firm Hargreaves Services plc said its reported revenue fell £3.9 million to £170.9 million in the six months…

Outline planning consent has been granted for the £175 million mixed-use West Bar Square development in Sheffield’s Riverside business district – the ambitious regeneration scheme that could create up…

The future of the UK’s new £10 billion Moorside nuclear plant on the Cumbria coast has been put in doubt after Japan’s Toshiba Corp — which is…

Nasdaq-listed Gateshead company Sevcon, which makes components for low carbon vehicles, said none of the director candidates nominated by “dissident” director Ryan Morris and his firm Meson Capital…

The Co-operative Bank, rescued from near collapse by hedge funds in 2013, said it has put itself up for sale amid a neeed to build its capital…

Edinburgh-based tidal power company Atlantis Resources announce an agreement to partner Natural Energy Wire (NEW) to develop the Wyre tidal project to be built between…

The Explorer Group, the Consett, County Durham-based manufacturer of motorhomes and caravans, is to be acquired by the Erwin Hymer Group of Germany. London-based investment company Constantine Group…

International industrials and metals group Liberty House said it agreed to buy Tata Steel UK’s speciality steels business for about £100 million. Liberty said the deal secures the…

Whistl, the second largest postal operator in the UK, said it will move into a new “super depot” for its North of England operations in late…

Manchester United said its revenue rose 18% to £157.9 million in the three months to December 31, 2016, but its net debt jumped 27.1% to £409.3 million. It its outlook, the company…

Flintshire-based house builder Redrow said its revenue rose 23% to a first half record of £739 million in the six months to December 31 and pre-tax profit soared…

The Co-op Group, based in Manchester, said Richard Pennycook is to step down as group CEO and will be succeeded by Steve Murrells, currently CEO of the Co-op’s food…

Luxembourg-based Corestate Capital Holding S.A. said it acquired the iconic landmark Royal Liver Building, the Grade A office building in Liverpool, for £48 million. The Royal Liver Building is located…

Lloyds Banking Group — which owns Halifax and Bank of Scotland — said it will undertake a review of all customer cases which may have…

Shares of Newcastle-based house builder Bellway plc rose after it delivered a strong trading update for the six months ended January 31, 2017, and revealed its forward order book has a…

Leeds-based prosthetics and orthotics company Steeper Group has undergone a management buyout with two directors — CEO Paul Steeper and finance director John Midgley — acquiring the business from…

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) said in its first report the Northern economy has the potential to benefit from £100 billion gross value added and 850,000…

Wisconsin-based Kohler Co. said its power group acquired Merseyside-based Clarke Energy Ltd., a multinational specialist in the engineering, construction, installation and maintenance of engine-based power plants. Knowsley-based…

Johnston Press — owner of The Yorkshire Post, The Scotsman and the i newspaper — said in a trading statement that although its revenue fell…

The UK’s central bank has increased its central expectation for UK growth in 2017 to 2% — up from its November forecast of 1.4% — and expects…

Better connected ports and airports in the North of England could release massive potential benefits for trade and business growth, a report from an independent…

Nasdaq-listed Gateshead company Sevcon, which makes components for low carbon vehicles, said the influential Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended that Sevcon stockholders vote for all the incumbent directors who are…

Chesire-based NWF Group plc, the agricultural and distribution business that delivers feed, food and fuel across the UK, said half year revenue to November 30 was…

Newcastle-based marketing and communications agency Drummond Central said it acquired digital specialists CoalFace, also based in The Toon, to boost its digital business. Drummond Central said CoalFace’s nine-strong…

Ken Morrison, who built a small Bradford-based family business into the major UK grocery retailing chain Morrisons, has died aged 85. Morrisons chairman Andrew Higginson said: “I…

Shares of Manchester-based TalkTalk Telecom Group rose about 9% after it said Dido Harding would step down as CEO in May 2017 after seven years and…

Residential development in Manchester has reached its highest level since 2008 with a number of new skyscrapers set to change the landscape of the city centre,…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said trading in the three months to December 31, 2016, had been in line with its expectations with deposit balances up…

Crewe-based alcohol wholesaler and distributor Conviviality Plc — which owns Bargain Booze and Wine Rack — said its revenue soared 211% to £782.5 million for the 26 weeks to…

Property companies Dransfield Properties and Harworth Group announced a joint venture to deliver a new £50 million retail, office and leisure scheme at Waverley, Rotherham – the site of Yorkshire’s largest ever…

Leeds-based WYG, the AIM-listed global project management and technical consultancy, said chairman Mike McTighe will retire at the next AGM in September and be succeeded by Jeremy Beeton, currently…

Manchester-based commercial property company Bruntwood said it has broken through the £1 billion mark for property under ownership for the first time in its 40 years….

Leeds-based car leasing and fleet management firm Zenith is to be acquired from Hg Capital by private equity firm Bridgepoint for £750 million. Zenith has more than 500 employees…

Nexus, the public body which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, said it will invest £35 million in Metro modernisation work in 2017….

Shares of Newcastle-based software company Sage Group fell about 5% on Thursday after the firm delivered what some analysts considered a slightly disappointing trading update for the three…

Shares of Manchester-based soaps and consumer products company PZ Cussons have fallen roughly 10% since it said on Tuesday that statutory profit before tax fell 37.8% to £24.9 million and revenue…

Liverpool-based Abbey Logistics Group, which recently completed a management buyout, said it acquired bulk liquid food transport firm Armet Logistics Ltd for an undisclosed sum. Abbey, the…

Nissan’s 2016 UK production statistics showed that 507,430 vehicles were produced at Nissan Sunderland last year — the second highest total in the plant’s history. Nissan…

Shares of Sedgefield, County Durham-based radiation detection company Kromek Group rose about 12% after it announced a conditional firm placing and open offer of shares to raise…

The management team of Knutsford, Cheshire-based Fishawack Group, the medical communications firm, said it completed a tertiary management buyout in a deal worth £38 million. Working with LDC, the…

Revenue at Sheffield-based Benchmark Holdings, the aquaculture biotechnology and food chain sustainability company, soared 148% to £109.4 million in the year to September 30, 2016, partly as…

Bus and rail giant FirstGroup and Italy’s Trenitalia UK said they will bid together for the East Midlands and West Coast Partnership rail franchises due to…

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) said it had its best year ever after welcoming a record 1.2 million passengers in 2016. The South Yorkshire airport has now…

Manchester-based commercial property company Bruntwood has appointed Phil Kemp to the position of chief commercial officer (CCO) to support the firm’s growth plans. Bruntwood said Kemp will be responsible…

The UK government said it will announce a £556 million boost for the Northern Powerhouse at a regional cabinet meeting on Monday “to help create jobs, support…

Yorkshire attracted a record breaking number of visitors from July to September 2016, according to new figures. Yorkshire saw a 12% increase in inbound visits…

Alliance Manchester Business School One has been named as a Global Elite School when it comes to employability and research excellence by one of the…

Manchester-based cyber security company NCC Group said its chairman Paul Mitchell will step down on May 31, 2017, as it announced profit before tax for the six months to November…

Shares of Chesire-based Pets At Home, the retailer of pet food, pet accessories and veterinary and grooming services, fell about 6% after it said group…

Shares of Manchester-based specialist fit fashion retailer N Brown Group — whose brands include JD Williams, Simply Be and Jacamo — rose about 7% after it said third…

Manchester United regained first place in the Deloitte Football Money League, ending the 11-year run of Real Madrid. Deloitte said record revenue of €689 million (about £515…

The UK’s housing stock is now worth a record £6.79 trillion, about 3.65 times the UK’s GDP, according to new analysis published by Savills. London and…

Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner CYBG said that 40 branches of Clydesdale Bank and 39 branches of Yorkshire bank will close in 2017 “as part…

Amec Foster Wheeler said it has been awarded a £35 million five-year contract to supply the UK Ministry of Defence with research and technology (R&T) services….

Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer Greggs said in a trading update that its total sales rose 7% in the 52 weeks to December 31 and that it anticipates its full…