UK government faces legal action from British American Tobacco and Philip Morris over plain packaging law May 22, 2015 The UK government is facing legal action from two of the world's biggest tobacco companies over its new “plain packaging” law. British American Tobacco and Philip Morris have filed law suits with the High Court, claiming the regulation breaches EU and English property trademark laws. Marc Firestone, senior vice president of Philip Morris, [...]
Young landlords are revitalising Britain’s ailing pub industry May 22, 2015 Over the last three years young pub landlords breathed new life into Britain's ailing pub industry, helping it bounce back from a painful period of decline. Youthful landlords have tapped into the nation's penchant for pub food, helping the sector's sales rise by 23 per cent in the three years to March 2015, according to data published [...]
Nationwide chief executive Graham Beale to retire next year as profits jump 54 per cent May 22, 2015 Nationwide's chief executive Graham Beale will step down next year, the building society has confirmed. Beale, who is expected to retire “at or around the date of the AGM in July”, will have been at the helm of the lender for nine years and a board member for 13 years. Nationwide is now looking [...]
Severn Trent share price falls as investments squeeze profits May 22, 2015 The figures Severn Trent's revenue increased 2.4 per cent to £1.8bn in the year to the end of March, up from £1.76bn a year earlier. Nevertheless, investments squeezed profits: pre-tax profit fell 53.5 per cent to £148.2m, down from £318.8m in 2013. It said that investment "in business development in US concessions impacted profit year on [...]
Quindell share prices rises as regulators give Slater & Gordon disposal the nod May 22, 2015 Quindell shares opened 2.7 per cent higher at 132p this morning after it revealed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had given its plans to sell its law arm the thumbs up. The company announced plans to sell its professional services division, which accounts for 90 per cent of its business, to Slater & Gordon in [...]
Number of women FTSE 100 chief execs rises to six as Whitbread appoints Alison Brittain as chief executive May 22, 2015 Whitbread has appointed Alison Brittain as its new chief executive, taking the total number of women chiefs on the FTSE 100 to six. The owner of Premier Inn hotels and Costa Coffee has picked the Lloyds Banking Group director to replace Andy Harrison who will retire on 16th February. Chairman Richard Baker described Brittain as [...]
IPOs back on: Goldman takes Equiniti to market May 21, 2015 One of the UK’s biggest outsourcing companies Equiniti has appointed Goldman Sachs for a £1bn-plus float in London later this year, underscoring the renewed appetite for initial public offerings (IPOs) after the General Election. The company is hoping to issue shares worth between £400m and £500m in the offering, which could value the business at [...]
Goldin and Hanergy bosses under fire as billions wiped off top Hong Kong stocks May 21, 2015 Two of the Hong Kong firms that had an as-yet-unexplained collapse of their share prices had business links, it was revealed last night. Goldin, a conglomorate dealing in horse breeding, wine and finance had HK$16bn (£1.31bn) wiped off its value when shares sunk yesterday. Subsidiaries Goldin Financial closed 43 per cent down and Goldin Properties [...]
Mothercare share prise rises as retailer hails first underlying UK sales growth in five years May 21, 2015 Shares in Mothercare rose 4.6 per cent yesterday as turnaround efforts under chief executive Mark Newton-Jones continued to pay off, with the retailer reporting its first full-year sales growth in five years. The child and baby products chain has had a tumultous year, in which it had to fend off a takeover offer from a [...]
As non-cash payments overtake hard currency, are we a few years off being a cashless society? May 21, 2015 Dennis Jones, chief executive of Judo Payments, says Yes This development isn’t surprising. One of the key drivers for this is the growth of lower-value transactions being made with cards. TfL alone has seen over 60m contactless transactions in the last six months, which were historically made with cash. And London’s buses are now cash-free [...]
