Marks and Spencer results will reflect the high street’s health November 4, 2018 Results from Marks and Spencer’s clothing range – long the weaker twin to its strong food offering – will be closely watched when the retailer reports on Wednesday, after difficult results for several of its rivals. Consensus estimates from 11 analysts suggest the FTSE 100 firm will post half-year profits before tax of £203m, a [...]
Shares in ad giants tumble on report of US advertising sector probe September 28, 2018 Shares in major advertising firms experienced movement today after a report claimed US federal prosecutors had started investigating media-buying practices in the US ad industry. An article in the Wall Street Journal claimed investigators had begun reviewing the ad industry and started to hand out subpoenas as part of the probe. Publicis shares fell 2.7 per [...]
Barratt chair threatened with investor rebellion after shareholders advised to vote against re-election October 16, 2018 Housebuilding giant Barratt Developments could suffer a revolt at its annual general meeting tomorrow, after an influential shareholder advisory group recommended investors vote against the re-election of chairman John Allan. PIRC has said that Allan, who is also chair of Tesco, “cannot effectively represent two corporate cultures…the possibility of having to commit additional time to [...]
Vodafone third quarter revenue slips amid fierce sector competition January 25, 2019 Vodafone today said it maintains its full-year guidance despite a decline in revenues in the third quarter as the firm struggles with increasing competition in the telecoms sector. The FTSE 100 firm reported revenue of €11bn (£9.5bn), down by €0.8bn on the same period the year before. Read more: Vodafone and O2 eye sale of phone [...]
Persimmon boss picked pub for first big purchase after £40m bonus November 18, 2018 Persimmon’s new boss spent almost £800,000 on a pub in his hometown as his first big personal purchase after receiving a £40m bonus this year. Dave Jenkinson became the housebuilder’s interim chief executive last week after former boss Jeff Fairburn was forced out amid a furore over his £75m bumper bonus. Jenkinson bought Shambles in Morpeth, [...]
National Grid gets shock as Ofgem lowers cap on shareholder payouts December 18, 2018 Ofgem will slash the amount of money network providers can pay to their shareholders under plans announced today, a move which it said could save customers around £45 a year. In an announcement which sent National Grid shares down over nine per cent to 759p, the regulator said it would set the baseline returns at [...]
DCC strikes discord with its purchase of the Jam Group September 27, 2018 DCC managed to hit the wrong note with its $170m (£130m) acquisition of the Jam Group today, sending shares down four per cent over the course of the afternoon. The FTSE 100 support services group placed up to 10 per cent of its share capital to fund the purchase, but investors weren’t in tune [...]
UK bank shares: A pre-Brexit view March 12, 2019 Some UK bank shares have made massive profits for shareholders, but how should you play the sector now? It’s been a few weeks since the last of the big UK-listed banks published results for 2018, and share price performance since has been varied. Brexit, of course, has played its part and, with some lenders up [...]
Provident Financial appoints ex-Just Group finance director as CFO after difficult 18 months November 6, 2018 Doorstep lender Provident Financial has appointed Simon Thomas as chief finance officer as it begins to recover from a turbulent 18 months. Thomas will join from FTSE 250 company Just Group where he was also finance director. Current finance chief Andrew Fisher will step down from the role in December but will remain employed for [...]
British Land swings to £42m loss as challenging retail market hits portfolio value November 14, 2018 British Land has swung to a £42m pre-tax loss as its retail portfolio value fell 4.5 per cent due to the “challenging” market. The FTSE 100 property company, which owns shopping centres, supermarkets, high street stores, offices and residential properties, said its retail portfolio fell £307m to £6.3bn in the first half of the year. [...]