Revenues rise 4% at ITV
Broadcasting group ITV today reported a 4 per cent rise in revenues for the first nine months of the year and said its cost-cutting programme was running ahead of schedule.The company, home to period...
View ArticleCompanies round-up – Tuesday 13 November
John Menzies and Cineworld have updated the market on their trading performance today.John Menzies – trading in line with expectationsThe Edinburgh-based logistics group said its full-year results...
View ArticleInflation leaps to 2.7% following rise in tuition fees
UK inflation rose to 2.7% last month after university students were hit with a near-trebling in tuition fees and households faced rising food costs, official figures revealed today.• 0.5% rise in...
View ArticlePrivatisation one step nearer as Royal Mail reveals profit surge
ROyal Mail completed a major step in its transformation yesterday with a huge increase in half-yearly profits that has helped pave the way for privatisation.Chief executive Moya Greene said the...
View ArticleBusiness briefs: Persimmon boosted by lower mortgages | Diageo share sale
PERSIMMON Homes is on track to meet its year-end expectations in Scotland, according to regional chairman John Cassie.The autumn selling season has seen visitor rates rise 6 per cent ahead of this time...
View ArticleRent disputes need not go to the Land Court
With only two weeks to go before the rent term date of 28 November, the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters and Valuers Assocation yesterday reminded tenant farmers and landowners of dispute resolution...
View ArticleStrong Response for Esure
Response, the Glasgow-based call centre group, has extended its contract with insurer Esure in an undisclosed deal said to be worth several millions.The firm has been handling inbound sales and...
View ArticleStewart Milne building steadily towards normality as sales rise
House builder Stewart Milne said yesterday it continued a slow recovery in its profitability last year as it revealed an increase in turnover and 26 per cent boost in house sales. Managing director...
View ArticleQuilter in swoop for peer Cheviot
Wealth manager Quilter has taken over smaller rival Cheviot Asset Management as it seeks to bolster its scale and play a more prominent role in the sector.The two firms said yesterday they were merging...
View ArticleJohn Menzies on track to hit its targets
John Menzies, the aviation and newspaper distribution group, said it was on track to meet its annual targets for the year despite expecting to be hit with a £2 million “headwind” on currency...
View ArticleBank of Ireland sells €1bn bond
Bank of Ireland has raised €1 billion in its most significant bond issue for more than three years and said it was starting to benefit from lower funding costs and a steadier economy. Hammered by the...
View ArticleComment: Old enemy inflation rears its ugly head again
for a few weeks it looked as though the economic tide was turning. September gave us better news on inflation (the lowest for three years) and retail figures (showing the first signs of improvement)....
View ArticleTesco turns its back on bank incentive sales
TESCO Bank has become the latest British bank to stop frontline staff being incentivised through targeted product sales, MPs heard yesterday.Benny Higgins, chief executive of Tesco Bank, said when the...
View ArticleBusiness briefs: Crown Estate backs tidal power plans | Sofant | Citibase
Orkney-based Scotrenewables Tidal Power has secured a lease from the Crown Estate to develop a 30 MW tidal stream array at Lashy Sound in the Pentland Firth. This follows the company testing a 250 kW...
View ArticleVampire conclusion ‘can lift Cineworld’
Cinema operator Cineworld has pinned its hopes of improving its performance on the concluding part of the Twilight vampire romance series, which hits screens on Friday, after suffering a 4 per cent...
View ArticleSmart move as Ecebs sold to Bell ID
SMART card developer Ecebs has been sold to Rotterdam-based software firm Bell ID for an undisclosed sum. The East Kilbride-based company, which employs 45, was sold by online ticketing firm The Train...
View ArticleGuarded welcome for Müller’s milk price rise
There was a guarded welcome yesterday from NFU Scotland to the announcement that dairy farmers who supply Müller Dairy and Robert Wiseman Dairies will see their milk price rise to 30.5p per litre by 1...
View ArticleMarkets: Bulls’ late charge helps lift Footsie
Improving news from Europe and rumours that Spain was finally preparing to ask for a bail-out helped the bulls re-gain the advantage late on yesterday.The FTSE 100 index had been up to 50 points lower...
View ArticleSainsbury’s outshines Tesco as profits rise
Britain’s third-largest supermarket, Sainsbury’s, has beaten City forecasts with a 5.4 per cent rise in first-half profits, boosted by its convenience stores and online business.The group reported a...
View ArticleSSE defends 38% jump in profits
PERTH-based energy giant SSE today tried to deflect criticism over rising profits by insisting that higher earnings were better for the wider economy.The group posted an adjusted pre-tax profit of...
View Article