News And Announcements
Former Stobart CEO 'expensed horse racing sponsorship, private jets'
The former boss of Stobart Group has been accused of spending more than £4. 5m on expenses, including helicopters and horse racing sponsorship, according to court documents filed on Thursday.
Strong demand drives Mondi interim pre-tax profits up 6%
Paper manufacturer Mondi on Friday reported a 6% rise in interim pre-tax profits of €490m (£436m) due to higher average selling prices and solid demand across its packaging businesses.
RBS promises first dividend since financial crisis
Royal Bank of Scotland declared its first dividend in 10 years despite a mixed set of first half results, but generally beating City forecasts.
FastForward raising a crisp £4m through placing
FastForward Innovations has agreed to place 30,769,230 new ordinary shares at a price of 13p each with a number of new and existing investors, it announced on Friday, raising gross proceeds of £4m before expenses.
Warpaint London buys out its own US distributor
Colour cosmetics specialist supplier Warpaint London, which owns the W7 and Technic brands, announced the acquisition of its US distributor Marvin Leeds Marketing Services on Friday.
Tekcapital investee Lucyd to launch e-commerce offer
Intellectual property investment group Tekcapital announced on Friday that its portfolio company Lucyd has launched an online store to provide “cutting-edge” spectacles and smart glasses.
Essentra back on track as it returns to profits growth
Plastics supplier Essentra on Friday said it had returned to profit growth as it unveiled a 7% rise in half-year pre-tax profits to £21m.
ECR Minerals buys option on Iceberg Gold Project
Precious metals exploration and development company ECR Minerals announced the signing of an agreement with Pacific Trends Resources on Friday, which it said secured an option over the Iceberg Gold Project in Western Australia.
Two Shields throws cash behind battery metals with further KKME investment
Two Shields Investments announced on Friday that, in line with its strategy to invest in battery metals, it has made a further investment of $50k to increase its interest in Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration (KKME) to 22. 5%.
TruFin investee Zopa gets fresh £44m round of funding
TruFin announced on Friday that Zopa, in which it currently owned around 15%, has agreed a further round of equity capital investment to be deployed to support the capital needs of the “next generation bank” it has been building.
Stronger sterling and Mayfair closure take shine off Millennium & Copthorne first half
Millennium & Copthorne Hotels issued its interim management report for the six months ended 30 June on Friday, reporting a 4. 3% fall in group revenue per available room (RevPAR) to £75. 29 in reported currency.
Phoenix appoints chairman to step in after Standard Life acquisition
Insurance service provider Phoenix Group on Friday appointed former Lehman Brothers veteran Nicholas Lyons as group chairman, starting in September.
Paddy Power Betfair's FanDuel inks deal with Boyd Gaming
Paddy Power Betfair announced on Friday that its subsidiary, FanDuel Group, has entered into an agreement with Boyd Gaming to co-operate in the US sport betting and online casino markets.
IAG operating profit ascends, still interested in Norwegian
International Consolidated Airlines Group reporting a strong increase in profits at the half-year stage, but not enough to satisfy demanding investors.
William Hill tumbles over FOBT hurdle, while US expansion kicks in
Bookmaker William Hill reported a big swing into the red as it took a £916m charge in the first half of the year after the government cracked down on fixed-odds betting terminals.
AstraZeneca, Merck NF1 treatment granted orphan status by EMA
AstraZeneca and Merck said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has granted orphan designation to selumetinib, a MEK 1/2 inhibitor, for the treatment of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) an incurable genetic condition that affects one in 3,000 newborns worldwide.
Cobham reports slump in half-year sales and profits
Cobham saw sales slump over the first half of the year as it ran into trouble with Boeing on the KC-46 tanker programme.