Ben Hardy on EastEnders and his new LGBTQ film Unicorns: We’re all multi-faceted. Why stick to one label?
Travis Perkins sells plumbing arm for £46m January 13, 2020 British builders’ merchant Travis Perkins has sold its plumbing and heating business to distribution group Newbury Investments for £46m. The sale comes just four months after Travis Perkins halted the sale of the unit, called Primaflow, blaming “unprecedented uncertainty”. Read more: Travis Perkins halts sale of plumbing unit amid uncertainty The deal, which the building [...]
DIY retailer Wickes builds sales ahead of Travis Perkins demerger January 29, 2020 DIY retailer Wickes announced strong sales growth in the fourth quarter of last year, ahead of its split from parent company Travis Perkins. The firm said like-for-like sales growth in the fourth quarter was 4.5 per cent, while year-to-date sales jumped 8.7 per cent. Trading in both its core division – which includes local trade [...]
Downbeat Shell drags FTSE 100 lower October 28, 2021 A poor set of results from FTSE 100 big beast Shell pulled London’s premier index down during the opening session of trading today. The blue-index dipped 0.23 per cent to 7,236.77 points, with the oil megacap’s two listed shares falling more than 1.70 per cent. Shell published results this morning showing earnings slipped 25 per [...]
Booming sales at Wickes as locked down Brits turned their hands to DIY June 1, 2021 Sales at Wickes boomed in the six months to 22 May, as a nation under lockdown restrictions got creative with DIY and home renovations. In a trading update this morning, the retailer, which sells various home improvement products, revealed like-for-like growth jumped some 46 per cent on the same period in 2020. Following better [...]
Travis Perkins halts sale of plumbing and heating unit amid ‘unprecedented’ uncertainty October 22, 2019 Travis Perkins has put the sale of its plumbing and heating business on hold due to an “unprecedented level of uncertainty” in the market. The building materials distributor had decided to tell the unit last December in a bid to simplify and cut costs. Read more: Travis Perkins confirms plans to demerge Wickes But the [...]
Travis Perkins confirms Wickes demerger plans July 31, 2019 Travis Perkins has confirmed that it is planning to spin-off DIY retailer Wickes as the builders merchant revealed it made a profit in its half-year results. Read more: Travis Perkins accelerates plans to sell Wickes The figures Like-for-like revenue grew eight per cent to £2.7bn. Operating profit was £64m in the six months to 30 [...]
Biffa wastes no time in snapping up Viridor assets for £126m May 21, 2021 Biffa this morning said it would buy fellow waste management firm Viridor’s collections business, as well as some recycling assets, for £126m. By buying a nationwide UK collections and recycling portfolio, the FTSE 250 firm said it was cementing its market leading position. The acquisition is yet another move by the bin firm to consolidate [...]
Travis Perkins accelerates plans to sell Wickes July 14, 2019 Builders merchant Travis Perkins has stepped up its plans for a £500m spin-off of DIY retailer Wickes. Travis Perkins has begun to prepare to demerge Wickes next year by separating the retailer’s IT systems from the rest of the group, the Sunday Times reported. Read more: Travis Perkins investors cheer first quarter sales growth The [...]
Investec sees annual profit drop but second half resurgence boosts outlook May 21, 2021 Investec today said its financial year was a ‘tale of two halves’, with a strong earnings recovery in the second half supported by a resilient client base. Adjusted earnings per share for the year ended 31 March was 28.9p, almost 15 per cent lower than the previous year. Second half earnings shot up to 58 [...]
Card Factory completes £225m refinancing as reopening sales soar May 21, 2021 Card Factory today said it had completed a £225m refinancing deal with its existing commercial bank syndicate. The increased bank facilities will provide extra liquidity above the original £200m it replaces. The facilities will provide Card Factory with the necessary financial resources to focus on future growth, such as boosting its online presence. Darcy Wilson-Rymer, [...]