Big UK banks slip down in global ranking, but Metro and the challengers make ground July 3, 2017 Big UK banks are suffering compared with international rivals, according to a ranking of the world’s 1,000 largest lenders out today. HSBC remains Britain’s biggest bank in the global ranking, coming in ninth for the second year in a row. However, the lender – which topped the 2008 ranking – suffered its worst result in [...]
Permanent TSB completes EU deleveraging plan with sale of second slug of its mortgage book to Cerberus October 27, 2016 The fund that has spent billions hoovering up some of the UK's banks' most distressed mortgage portfolios, today splashed out €2.4bn (£2bn) to snaffle Permanent TSB's Irish housing book. US distressed debt investor Cerberus Capital Management already owns 50 per cent of Capital Home Loans, a subsidiary of Permanent TSB, and this deal completes the part state-owned lender's €8.4bn [...]
Hollywood Bowl reports striking sales but profit is in the gutter after IPO and Bowlplex acquisition December 13, 2016 Hollywood Bowl announced striking growth breaking through the £100m sales mark in its earnings for the year ended 30 September. The figures The UK's largest 10-pin bowling operator reported revenue increased 23.9 per cent to £106.6m this year from £86m last year. Pre-tax profit was down in the gutter by £2.4m this year to £1.2m due to one-off exceptional costs [...]
Supreme Court ruling pushes sterling down despite forcing Parliamentary vote January 24, 2017 The Supreme Court’s decision to force the government to allow a vote on triggering Article 50 has provided scant consolation to the pound, which has extended losses in volatile trading. Sterling fell to lows of $1.2438 against the US dollar at the time of publication in response to the ruling. It had risen sharply ahead [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond expected to bank £12bn from borrowing outperformance in his first Budget March 5, 2017 Budget-day forecasts from the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) are expected to give chancellor Philip Hammond a boost in his efforts to hit his new fiscal targets. Borrowing could undershoot previous targets by as much as £12bn during the 2016-17 tax year, according to the OBR’s analysis of government borrowing figures up to January. [...]
Unilever share price drops after deal talks with Kraft Heinz fall apart February 20, 2017 Shares in Unilever finished more than seven per cent lower today after talks around a potential deal with Kraft Heinz were called off over the weekend. The proposed takeover was revealed on Friday, sending FTSE 100-listed Unilever's share price up 15 per cent, and Kraft's up by 4.3 per cent in pre-market trading in New York. [...]
Investec tells investors Playtech has “firepower” for “significant” additions to warchest after company confirms discussions March 2, 2016 NULL
Inflation rises to its highest in two years as weak sterling takes its toll December 13, 2016 The UK's inflation rate rose to 1.2 per cent in the year to November, up from 0.9 per cent in October – and beating expectations of 1.1 per cent. That puts it at the highest rate since October 2014, when it was 1.3 per cent. The rise was driven by hikes in clothing prices, motor [...]
Fund managers plan executive pay crackdown to avert need for government intervention February 5, 2017 A group of fund manager giants have agreed to club together to combat excessive executive pay. Aberdeen Asset Management, M&G Investments and Standard Life Investments were among 13 firms involved in the recent pact. The agreement came after an 18 January meeting of the Investment Association, which came around the time Blackrock, the world’s biggest fund manager, indicated [...]
JD Wetherspoon’s share price dips as chair Tim Martin cautions of lower sales and added costs in the second half March 10, 2017 JD Wetherspoon's shares fell more than three per cent after the pub group reported half-year results slightly ahead of expectations but warned of a difficult second half to come. The figures The pub owner and operator said profit before tax and exceptional items jumped 42.8 per cent to £51.4m from £36m for the 26 weeks to 22 January. Like-for-like sales [...]