News And Announcements
UK unemployment falls despite end of furlough
UK unemployment fell as businesses continued to hire staff despite the end of the furlough programme, official figures showed.
Begbies Traynor upbeat as insolvencies rise
Begbies Traynor said it was confident about the financial year with insolvencies expected to rise after the government's withdrawal of pandemic support.
Ocado Q4 revenues fall as labour shortages bite
UK online supermarket Ocado Retail said revenue in its final quarter fell 3. 9% year-on-year, as it felt the impact of labour shortages.
Primary Health Properties acquires medical centre in Lincolnshire
Real estate investment trust Primary Health Properties said on Tuesday that it had acquired the Parkside Medical Centre in Boston, Lincolnshire for a total consideration of £6. 8m.
GCP Infrastructure reduces dividend
GCP Infrastructure Investments reduced its dividend as value per share edged down in its most recent financial year.
Travis Perkins extends share buyback programme by £70m
Travis Perkins said on Tuesday that it was extending its share buyback programme by £70m.
Drax subsidiary acquires pellet sales contract book of Pacific BioEnergy
Power generation business Drax Group said on Tuesday that its Pinnacle Renewable Energy subsidiary had agreed to acquire the pellet sales contract book of Pacific BioEnergy Corporation, adding 2. 8 megatonnes of orders for sustainable biomass supply to high-quality counterparties in Japan and Europe.
Drahi's Altice lifts stake in BT to 18% but says no plans for bid
French Telecoms giant Altice said it had increased its stake in Britain’s BT Group to 18% and reiterated that it had no plans to stage a takeover under UK rules.
Chemring ups dividend despite dollar impact
Chemring increased its final dividend as the company reported an 8% increase in annual underlying profit despite a weakening of the US dollar.
Rentokil Initial to acquire Terminex in stock and cash deal
Pest control services provider Rentokil Initial has agreed to acquire Terminex in a stock and cash deal that values the business at roughly $7. 6bn.
NatWest fined £265m for taking laundered cash in bin bags
Britain's NatWest bank was fined £265m for a series of anti-money laundering failures, including taking cash deposits carried in bin bags as part of the operation of a suspected "drugs gang".