Heathrow passenger numbers surge in July

Heathrow said on Thursday that it has seen the largest rise in passenger numbers of any European airport over the last year, with more than 6. 3m people using the airport in July, up 317. 8% year-on-year.

Europe open: Shares rise on hopes of US inflation slowdown

European shares opened higher on Thursday following strong showings in the US and Asia as US CPI data showed signs of a slowdown in inflation.

London open: FTSE underperforms European peers as ex-divs weigh

London’s top flight index was just a smidgen higher in early trade on Thursday, underperforming its European peers as ex-dividend stocks weighed.

Coats raises £92m to fund Rehnoflex buy

Ladbrokes owner Entain expands into CEE; H1 revenues rise

Ladbrokes owner Entain announced a new drive to expand into Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) on Thursday and the acquisition of a Croatian sportsbook operator, as it posted a rise in first-half net gaming revenue.

Derwent London experiences 'good demand' in H1

Property investment and development business Derwent London said on Thursday that it had seen "good demand" for its locations despite the current uncertain macro environment.

Coca-Cola HBC H1 profits drop despite revenue growth

Bottling group Coca-Cola HBC said on Thursday that revenues had grown in the six months ended 1 July but contracting margins had led to a drop in interim profits.

Petrofac narrows losses, sees order backlog growth in H2

Energy industry firm Petrofac narrowed losses and said it expected to grow order backlog over the full year.

Spirax-Sarco hails 'strong' first half despite headwinds

Spirax-Sarco Engineering hailed a "strong" first half on Thursday despite headwinds, as it reported a jump in profits and said order books remain at record levels.

Savills first-half revenues jump, profits decline

Real estate advisor Savills backed its full-year expectations on Thursday as it posted a jump in first-half revenues but a drop in profits.

M&G H1 profits slump despite fund inflow growth, Antofagasta profits hit by volatile copper prices

London pre-open The FTSE 100 was being called to open 22. 8 points higher ahead of the bell on Thursday after closing 0. 25% higher in the previous session at 7,507. 11.

Hill & Smith sells France galvanising business

Infrastructure company Hill & Smith said it has sold its its French galvanizing and steel lighting column operations, France Galva to a consortium comprising ZINQ France and Sofigalva.

London pre-open: Stocks seen muted ahead of US PPI

London stocks were set for a muted open on Thursday as investors eye the latest US producer price index.

Thursday newspaper round-up: Disney, Russian airlines, renters

Walt Disney edged past Netflix with a total of 221 million streaming subscribers at the end of the most recent quarter and announced it will launch a Disney+ option with advertising this December. In the just-ended quarter, Disney+ added 14. 4 million Disney+ customers, beating the consensus of 10 million expected by analysts polled by FactSet, as it released Star Wars series Obi-Wan Kenobi and Marvel’s Ms Marvel. – Guardian.

M&G H1 fund inflows improve, interim profits and AUM fall

Investment manager M&G said on Thursday that improved fund flows in the six months ended 30 June had helped it deliver a "resilient" operational and financial performance despite posting sharp declines in profits and assets under management.

UK house prices continued rising in July, RICS says

UK house prices continued to rise in July and were expected to continue to do so so over the year ahead as a result of a "severe lack of stock", the results of a survey revealed.

Minneapolis and Chicago Fed bosses sound hawkish note despite July CPI data

Two top US central bank official sounded a hawkish note on the outlook for monetary policy despite data published earlier the same day that some hoped showed that consumer price inflation had peaked.