Below are the key headlines from today’s updated papers, featuring the Financial Times, The Times, The Telegraph, The Daily Mail & more - see the full Press section here.
Asda, Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) and Sainsbury (J) (SBRY) cut petrol prices by up to 2p a litre. Supermarkets make move after being accused of not passing on wholesale savings. Three supermarkets have announced petrol price cuts of up to 2p a litre. Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s made the move after fuel retailers were accused of not passing on savings from lower wholesale costs. Over the past six months, the cost of filling up a typical 55-litre family car that runs on petrol or diesel has risen by about £6.
The Co-op bank turned its first profit for five years on Tuesday, offering hope that it has recovered from an extraordinary period that saw its chairman filmed buying crystal meth and the bank fall into the hands of Wall Street hedge funds. Under new chief executive Andrew Bester, a former Lloyds Banking Group boss who arrived in July, the bank made £14.3 million in the third quarter. That’s a near-£40 million improvement on the loss made for the same period a year ago.
William Hill warns gambling crackdown will hit full-year profits. Bookmaker blames impact of government measures against problem gambling and FOBTs. William Hill (WMH) has warned of lower full-year profits following the closure of a number of customer accounts to combat problem gambling and money laundering, as well as the government’s clampdown on fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs). The bookmaker also blamed a tax increase and tough conditions on the high street, as it downgraded its full-year profit forecast to between £225m and £245m. Analysts had pencilled in profits of £242.6m; last year the company made £291.3m. In a trading update, William Hill said it benefited from the later stages of the World Cup, but lost out out to punters in football results in October and had three loss-making weeks on horse racing during the summer.
Online estate agent Purplebricks Group (PURP) on Tuesday said it has boosted UK sales despite the “challenging” housing market here. The AIM-listed firm said sales here jumped 20% in the six months to October 31, thanks to double-digit growth in selling instruction numbers and higher revenues per sale. The improved performance comes despite concerns that Brexit jitters could prompt would-be buyers to postpone or scrap purchases. Chief executive Michael Bruce said his firm, which has challenged High Street estate agents with competitive prices, is “confident about the future for our business”.
Supermarket chain Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) fell foul of the City on Tuesday after admitting that its growth had slowed. The grocer said same-store sales rose by 5.6% for the quarter to November 4, but this was mostly thanks to its wholesale business increasing by 4.3%. It supplies McColls, the convenience store chain, and Amazon. Its core supermarket sales accounted for growth of 1.3% but this was slower than the 1.8% the City had forecast. Sales in the previous quarter rose 2.3% boosted by the warm summer and World Cup. The shares, which have risen steadily this year, fell more than 5% to 241p today.
Rooney Anand on Tuesday said he will call time on working at pubs giant Greene King (GNK) , which he has led for nearly 14 years. The 54-year-old plans to step down as chief executive of the FTSE 250 firm at the end of the financial year ending April 30 2019. Anand has been with the brewer and landlord since 2001, and was promoted to the top job four years later. He has steered the business through tough times, including the smoking ban. He is one of a handful of BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) bosses at FTSE firms.
Entrepreneur Mark Dixon whetted the City’s appetite over the destiny of his £2.2 billion serviced offices empire IWG (IWG) on Tuesday as the firm said it was exploring a “range of potential strategic opportunities”. Dixon, who founded the former Regus in Brussels 30 years ago, still has a 27% stake in the firm which attracted a host of suitors during the summer. The interest from potential buyers, including Guy Hands’ buy-out house Terra Firma, has prompted the multi-millionaire to consider options including spinning off its faster-growing Spaces business, or boosting growth and returns by selling off its property and accelerating expansion through a franchising model.
Hungary-headquartered Wizz Air Holdings (WIZZ) on Tuesday said the government has rubber-stamped its plan for a UK route licence, allowing the budget carrier to operate here fully following Brexit. The firm, which has a base at Luton airport, said it got final approval from transport secretary Chris Grayling in October to have a UK-based subsidiary. That means its planes can keep flying from here to non EU-countries even if Britain has stricter aviation rules once it leaves the bloc. Wizz Air first got backing for the plan in May from the Civil Aviation Authority. The company today said the government’s final decision is “future-proofing the status of Wizz Air as a British airline”.
The owner of Primark, Associated British Foods (ABF) , said its share of the clothing market in the UK had ‘increased significantly’ in the last year. Within the UK, Primark’s total sales rose by 5.3% in the year to September, with like-for-like sales on a year ago up 1.2%. Globally, Primark’s total sales rose by 5.2% on a constant currency basis, while like-for-like sales fell by 2.1%, compared to 1 per cent increase a year earlier.
Britain’s largest motor insurer Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) has unveiled a 6% dip in gross insurance premiums amid a competitive market and year of extreme weather. The FTSE 100 insurer has been hit this year by a combination of pricing pressure and unpredictable weather: the so-called Beast from the East ate up almost all of its yearly budget for weather claims, and then the cold snap was followed by the hottest ever UK summer. Although Direct Line’s gross written premiums fell to £854.5m for the three months to September 30, City analysts said the business has so far weathered the headwinds well.
