Vocalink is reportedly in talks to merge with rival Sia November 5, 2015 Payments infrastructure company Vocalink is reportedly in talks for a £2bn merger with Italian counterpart Sia. According to Sky News the discussions are said to be at a preliminary stage, and could take several months before an agreement is reached. Vocalink declined to comment. VocaLink runs the Faster Payments Service and BACs which handle trillions [...]
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia revenue chopped 41pc to $17.5m for third quarter of 2015 November 5, 2015 Revenue for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has been almost chopped in half for its third quarter of 2015, dropping 41 per cent to $17.5m (£11.5m) from $29.6m in the same period last year. Despite this, the lifestyle company reported that it had edged closer to the black, with a net loss of $1.5m, compared to a [...]
Handbag designer Kate Spade fashions a net profit of $2.3m for third quarter of 2015 November 5, 2015 Kate Spade & Company revealed today that it had fashioned a net profit of $2.3m (£1.5m) for its third quarter of 2015, up from a net loss of $9.1m for the same period last year. The company, best known for its quirky range of women’s accessories, also announced a rise in net sales to $277m from [...]
Takeover Panel names and shames Credit Suisse, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Holman Fenwick Willan November 5, 2015 The British takeover watchdog took the rare step today of naming and shaming Credit Suisse, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) for failing to disclose details about a controversial 2010 deal involving an Indonesian coal miner. The UK Takeover Panel said the investment bank and law firms had broken Canada’s [...]
Pure Gym speeds up £20m makeover of former LA Fitness sites November 5, 2015 Budget gym operator Pure Gym is flexing its muscles and speeding up £20m plans to revamp the 43 LA Fitness sites it acquired this summer. The chain, which beat off competition from rivals including Sports Direct to buy LA Fitness for an estimated £70m, has already refurbished and reopened three sites in Brighton, Bedford and [...]
Sports Illustrated publisher Time Inc net loss plunges to $913m November 5, 2015 Media company Time Inc, which publishes Sports Illustrated, InStyle and Time magazine, earlier today reported a net loss of $913m (£600m) for its third quarter of 2015, swinging from a net profit of $48m for the same period last year. Goodwill impairment of $952m, caused in part by falls in Time Inc’s share price, was [...]
High street retailer confidence rises ahead of Christmas November 5, 2015 High street retailers are feeling more confident about Christmas this year, with the majority predicting a rise in revenues according to research from Barclays, despite warnings from retailers including SuperGroup and Marks & Spencer of challenges ahead. Barclays said 79 per cent of retailers surveyed expect revenues to increase over the Christmas period compared to [...]
Former directors at City Link deny failure to inform of hundreds of job losses in court November 5, 2015 **Waiting on a comment from EY by 5. **Link to Express & Star story: http://www.expressandstar.com/business/city-news/2015/11/05/city-link-bosses-failed-to-tell-ministers-of-redundancies/ Short hed: City Link denies criminal charge in trial City Link's three former directors are denying that they failed to inform officials of hundreds of job losses in the first day of a two-day trial. The collapsed parcel delivery company, which [...]
Shawbrook results: Challenger bank says profits jumped 68 per cent thanks to more SME demand for loans November 5, 2015 Shares in challenger bank Shawbrook jumped today after the bank said that its profits are soaring thanks to growing demand from small and medium-sized businesses for loans. Shawbrook, which was founded in 2011 and made its debut on the London Stock Exchange earlier this year, said that its underlying profit rose by 68 per cent during [...]
Tata Steel posts profit rise despite UK crisis November 5, 2015 India-based steel giant Tata has posted an increase in profit of 22 per cent to 15.29bn rupees (£152m) for its third quarter compared to the previous year. The rise in profit comes just weeks after 1,200 jobs in the UK were cut and plants shut down due to an industry supply crisis and falling raw material [...]