Northern Financial Review

Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group said that following the conclusion of an auction, Drax had been “provisionally successful” in its bid to acquire the assets of Louisiana…

The UK Treasury said it authorised the £11.8 billion sale of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) loans acquired by the taxpayer during the financial crisis to Prudential plc and…

Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World said it raised £50 million in a placing of 37.73 million shares at 132.5p — representing about 9% of the firm’s share capital. Further, in…

Scarborough-based Sirius Minerals plc, the firm behind the controversial $2.9 billion fertilizer mine in North Yorkshire, said it plans to apply to move its share listing from AIM to the main…

Shares of Warrington-based United Utilities, the UK’s largest listed water company, edged lower after it said in a trading update that its revenue is expected to…

Shares of Flintshire-based house builder Redrow rose 3% after it said it decided “it is not in its shareholders’ best interests” to increase its proposal to…

Shares of York-based “international assistance” firm CPP Group fell 14% after it said its 2016 revenue decreased 4% to £73.6 million and that chief financial officer Michael Corcoran would leave the…

Manchester’s up-for-sale Co-operative Bank said “a number of credible strategic and financial parties have expressed interest in the sale process and are currently evaluating information on the…

Shares of Leeds-based WYG, the AIM-listed project management consultancy, fell more than 20% after it said in a trading update that “a combination of programme deferrals on existing…

Eddie Stobart Logistics is to float on the junior AIM stockmarket in London and will target a market capitalisation on admission in excess of £550 million….

Real estate company Savills’ latest Manchester Office Spotlight report said overseas investors led by German firms accounted for 72% of all office acquisitions in Manchester last year with…

Flintshire-based house builder Redrow, which has said it still wants to pursue a deal for Bovis Homes, on Wednesday issued a trading update saying its current performance was “robust” and…

Newcastle-based house builder Bellway said its profit before tax rose more than 9% to £247.6 million on revenue up almost 6% to £1.14 billion in the six months…

The UK government said on Monday it intends on March 29 to formally trigger the long negotiations for the UK to leave the EU. “The UK’s Permanent…

Unite Group plc said its student accommodation developer Unite Students acquired an asset under development near the University of Durham for £34 million. The accommodation will open in September 2018 and…

Rotherham-based real estate and brownfield regeneration firm Harworth Group said it conditionally raised £27.8 million by placing 29.2 million new shares at 95p in order to…

Leeds-based healthcare software and information technology firm EMIS Group said its 2016 revenue rose 2% to £158.7 million and statutory operating profit rose 106% to £23.5 million “despite headwinds created by the NHS…

Toyota said it will invest a further £240 million in its car plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire to “improve plant competitiveness and … promote UK supply chain efficiencies.” But…

Leeds-based private equity firm Endless LLP said it backed the carve-out of Sheffield-based SIG plc’s Carpet and Flooring (C&F) business. C&F has turnover of around £100 million and employs…

The Peel Group-led consortium behind the £5 billion Liverpool Waters development unveiled the first glimpse of the new Central Docks neighbourhood at the MIPIM property conference in Cannes…

Select Property Group said it signed heads of terms on a joint venture partnership deal with the Greater Manchester Property Venture Fund (GMPVF) to deliver its…

Manchester-based drug discovery company C4X Discovery Holdings said it raised £7 million in a share placing to support the firm’s expansion plans. AIM-listed C4X said 8,235,294…

Winsford, Chesire-based surgical and advanced wound care firm Advanced Medical Solutions Group (AMS) said its 2016 revenue rose 20% to £82.6 million and profit before tax rose 12% to…

Aberdeen-based oil and gas services company Wood Group said it agreed to buy rival firm Amec Foster Wheeler for about £2.2 billion in an all-share “transformational” deal….

Manchester’s up-for-sale Co-operative Bank said on Thursday its statutory loss before tax, still impacted by legacy issues, was reduced to £477.1 million in 2016 compared to a…

Bradford-based supermarket group Morrisons said turnover in the year to January 29 edged up 1.2% to £16.3 billion and underlying pretax profit rose to £337 million — but warned…

Sheffield-based Benchmark Holdings, the aquaculture biotechnology and food chain sustainability company, said it signed a long-term agreement with major Norwegian salmon producer SalMar ASA “to provide genetics, health…

Manchester-based internet infrastructure firm Metronet (UK), backed by mid-market private equity firm Livingbridge, said it acquired London-based fibre network provider Venus Business Communications. The acquisition of Venus follows Metronet’s…

Manchester-based car dealer Lookers plc said 2016 revenue increased 17% to £4.3 billion and adjusted profit before tax increased 7% to £77.1 million as it vowed to continue looking…

Sheffield-based software and hardware firm Servelec said its 2016 revenue fell 3% to £61 million and profit before tax fell 29% to £9.5 million as delays in procurement…

Rotherham-based real estate and brownfield regeneration firm Harworth Group said its 2016 net asset value (NAV) rose 12.5% to £334.9 million — 115p per share — helped…

Newcastle-based Sage Group, the UK’s largest tech company, said it agreed to acquire Fairsail, the fast-growing cloud human capital management system for mid-sized businesses. Currently a minority…

Sheffield-based rail depot equipment manufacturer Mechan said it will be acquired by French railway infrastructure company CIM Group. “Our name, management and personnel will stay the…

Durham-based Atom Bank, the UK’s first bank designed exclusively for mobile technology, said it agreed a further £83 million in equity capital from major shareholders. The latest…

Durham-headquartered Banks Renewables, the renewable energy division of property and energy business Banks Group, said it secured a £210 million investment package to support the construction…

Merseyside-based soft drinks firm Nichols plc said Vimto sales helped its 2016 revenue rise 7.4% to £117.3 million and operating profit rise 9% to £30.3 million. “There is no doubt that the…

French utility Engie said it agreed to acquire the regeneration business of Doncaster-based social housing developer Keepmoat, which specialises in renovating buildings for local authorities, for about £330 million. Engie said…

Shares of Leeds-based International Personal Finance (IPF) fell about 10% after the home credit firm said its profit before tax fell 20% in 2016 to £92.6 million on revenue up 1.2%…

Newcastle-based train wi-fi company Nomad Digital said its chief operating officer Reece Donovan has been appointed CEO from March 1 after Andrew Taylor stepped down. Taylor will…

Liverpool Football Club filed annual accounts for the year to May 31, 2016, revealing that revenue increased £3.9 million to a record £301 million but that…

Skipton Building Society said its 2016 gross residential mortgage lending rose 8% to a record £4 billion, total assets rose 8.6% to £19 billion, and profit after tax increased…

Barrow-in-Furness marine engineering services company James Fisher said its 2016 revenue rose 6% to £466 million and underlying profit before tax grew by 11% to…

Oldham-based consumer goods firm Ultimate Products said its London Stock Exchange IPO price was set at 128p per share, which will equate to a market capitalisation of £105.2…

Manchester-based cyber security company NCC Group said Rob Cotton stepped down as chief executive and as an executive director of its board with immediate effect. Brian Tenner,…

Shares of Newcastle-based transport group Go-Ahead Group fell more than 13% after it said half year results to December 31 were in line with management expectations but that…

Newcastle-based bakery and “food-on-the-go” retailer Greggs said its 2016 sales rose 7% to £894.2 million and pre-tax profit excluding exceptional items rose 10% to £80.3 million. However Greggs shares fell 3%…

Chesire-based workwear and linen rental company Johnson Service Group (JSG) said its 2016 revenue rose 36.4% to £256.7 million and profit before tax soared 49.7% to £25.9 million. JSG…

Liverpool Football Club announced that Peter Moore will become its new chief executive officer in June and report directly to the club’s owners, Fenway Sports Group. Liverpool-born…

Shares of Chester-based price comparison website company Moneysupermarket.com fell about 5% after it said its revenues were currently behind last year amid low interest rates. The company said 2016…

Newcastle and Edinburgh-based challenger bank Virgin Money said its 2016 statutory profit before tax increased 41% to £194.4 million and its gross mortgage lending grew 12% to £8.4 billion, giving it…

Selby, North Yorkshire-based power company Drax Group said it is “participating in separate processes” for the acquisition out of bankruptcy of the operating assets of Texas Pellets and Louisiana…

York-based housebuilder Persimmon said its 2016 revenue increased 8% to £3.14 billion and profit before tax rose 23% to £774.8 million as it delivered 15,171 homes across the UK, an…

Land Securities said it completed the sale of The Printworks landmark city centre leisure complex in Manchester to DTZ Investors for £108 million. Redeveloped in 2000, The…

Boeing said it plans to open a new £20 million production facility in Sheffield to manufacture high-tech components for its next-generation 737, 737 MAX and 777 aircraft. Boeing…

Newcastle Building Society said its gross mortgage lending rose 46% to £496 million in 2016 and and net lending increased from £10 million to £195 million. Newcastle…

Nissan said it reached a milestone of nine million cars built at its Sunderland plant — which employs 6,700 — since production began in 1986. The company…

Chinese life sciences company Lianhe Chemical Technology Company (Lianhetech) agreed to buy Middlesbrough-based chemicals manufacturer Fine Industries from Manchester-based private equity firm NorthEdge Capital and Fine Industries…

The UK government’s business and energy secretary Greg Clark announced £229 million worth of investment in the development of cutting-edge advanced materials and a new…

Bolton-based online electrical retailer AO World said chief operating officer Steve Caunce would succeed company founder John Roberts as its CEO, effective immediately. Roberts, 43, who founded AO World in 2000 and…

The UK government’s Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy called on the North of England to come together to tackle the “massive” challenges facing the region….

Investment to improve east-west transport links is the key to unlocking the North’s economic growth, the UK Northern Powerhouse conference in Manchester was told. The UK…