Nestle buys health brands from US nutrition firm The Bountiful Company for $5.75bn April 30, 2021 Food and drink giant Nestle has bought a chunk of health brands from US nutrition and supplement firm The Bountiful Company for $5.75bn. The conglomerate announced this morning that it has entered into an agreement with KKR to buy brands including Natures Bounty, Solgar, Osteo Bi-Flex and Puritan’s Pride, as well as the company’s US [...]
Business rates appeals soar as property experts slam government’s ban on Covid-19 review requests April 30, 2021 Business rates appeals have soared since the beginning of the pandemic, with experts branding the government’s decision to block reconsiderations based on Covid-19 as a “material change of circumstance” as a “disgrace”. The latest figures showed that, between 1 April last year and the end of March 2021, 409,430 checks had been lodged by firms, [...]
Care home landlord Impact Healthcare REIT taps shareholders for £35m April 30, 2021 Care home landlord Impact Healthcare Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has raised £35m through a share placing to pay down debt and fund new investments. The firm said this morning that 31,690,327 ordinary shares will be issued at a price of 111.5p per share, with the proceeds used to repay its revolving credit facility. The [...]
UK house prices grow at fastest pace in more than 15 years in April April 30, 2021 UK house prices grew at the fastest pace in more than 15 years this month, according to the latest research. The average house price was up 2.1 per cent month-on-month, the biggest monthly rise since February 2014. Annual house price growth rebounded to 7.1 per cent in April compared to 5.7 per cent in March, [...]
Embattled Covid-19 jab maker Astrazeneca reports $275m of vaccine sales April 30, 2021 Embattled Covid-19 vaccine maker Astrazeneca reported a jump in revenue to $7.32bn in the first quarter, including $275m of coronavirus jab sales. The pharmaceutical giant said revenue grew 15 per cent in the first three months of 2021, and profit after tax jumped from £750m to £1.56bn. It recorded $275m of Covid-19 jab sales after [...]
Finance chief quits high street pawnbroker H&T Group as business refocuses April 30, 2021 High street pawnbroker H&T Group this morning announced the departure of its chief financial officer to allow it to focus on the “future needs and priorities of the business”. Finance chief Richard Withers will leave the business at the end of next month after just three years in the role. The move is due to [...]
City Pub Group expands portfolio in vote of confidence in London’s hospitality sector April 29, 2021 The City Pub Group has increased its stake in two hospitality chains in a vote of confidence in London’s pub sector. It has bought a 49 per cent stake in Barts Pub, the owner of Ladbroke Grove’s Kensington Park Hotel, for £750,000, and will operate the pub under a management contract. The City Pub Group [...]
Park Plaza operator PPHE looks forward to strong trading when hotels reopen April 29, 2021 Hotel chain PPHE, which operates the Park Plaza brand, said it expects demand to bounce back when restrictions on tourism are lifted. The firm said total revenue in the first three months of 2021 had plummeted 89.6 per cent to £5.3m, due to the ongoing impact of coronavirus restrictions. However PPHE said it had been [...]
In The Style sales soar 130 per cent in first financial update since retailer’s AIM listing April 29, 2021 Fast fashion firm In the Style, which collaborates with reality TV stars and online influencers, toasted booming sales over the last 12 months in its first financial results since it went public last month. The ecommerce retailer said turnover for the year ended 31 March is expected to be around £44.5m, a 130 per cent [...]
Unilever beats sales expectations and announces €3bn share buyback April 29, 2021 Unilever beat sales expectations in the first quarter and announced it will launch a share buyback of €3bn (£2.61bn) later this year. The consumer goods giant said this morning that it secured underlying sales growth of 5.7 per cent in the first three months of the year, beating analysts’ average forecast of 3.9 per cent. [...]