Britain’s largest building society, Nationwide, has today posted a surge in underlying pre-tax profits. Nationwide said pre-tax profits fell 7% to £317 million – primarily due to accounting changes. However, underlying profits surged 30% to £276 million in the year to 4 April. Meanwhile, the amount written off for bad loans to customers dropped by [...]
It has been confirmed that Yorkshire Building Society will merger with smaller rival Norwich and Peterborough (N&P) Building Society. The announcement comes after much consolidation in Britain’s mutual sector, as a result of funding pressures. Meanwhile, the news comes after N&P, which is Britain’s tenth largest society, was fined earlier this week by the Financial [...]
It has been revealed that Yorkshire Building Society is in talks with smaller rival Norwich and Peterborough (N&P) which could lead to an acquisition. The announcement comes after much consolidation in Britain’s mutual sector, as a result of funding pressures. Late last year, Coventry Building Society and Stroud & Swindon merged, creating a business with [...]
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society (N&P) has today confirmed it has received an approach about a possible merger. The building society, which is Britain’s tenth largest, said it had received “a number of expressions of interest,” as well as the possibility for the injection of fresh capital. In a statement, the firm said: “Like other [...]
Britain’s largest building society, Nationwide, has today posted a surge in first half profits. Nationwide said pre-tax profits for the six months to September 30 were £147 million, up from £117 million in the same period a year ago. The company, which is the country’s second-biggest mortgage lender, added that bad debts dropped by 44% [...]
The Observer newspaper has today reported that US private equity firm, JC Flowers, might bid for four UK building societies as part of plans to create a new “supermutual”, that could be sold via a partial flotation. It is believed that West Bromwich, Skipton, Norwich & Peterborough and Principality are being targeted. However, JC Flowers [...]
It has been announced today that high street travel agents, Thomas Cook and the Co-operative Group, are to merge their chain of travel agents. However, the deal will bring “inevitable“ job losses due to overlap within the two companies. The transaction will create a 1,200-branch network and will save more than £35 million a year [...]
Coventry Building Society, which is scheduled to finalise its merger with smaller rival Stroud & Swindon next month, has today announced record results for the six months ending June 30. The UK’s third largest building society said pre-tax profit grew by 20% to £43.5 million - compared with £36.2 million in the same period a [...]
Pfizer has announced plans to reduce its global headcount by 6,000 over the next five years as part of a major restructure. The company, which is the world’s largest drug maker, said the jobs represent almost a fifth of its workforce and said it will also close manufacturing sites in Ireland and scale back operations [...]
The world’s largest carrier has been created via a merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines, as consolidation spreads throughout the industry. The two US airlines expect the merger to deliver savings of more than $1 billion a year. The deal, which is worth $3.2 billion (£2.1 billion), will see a company that will carry [...]
It has been confirmed that British Airways (BA) and Spanish airline Iberia have signed a deal to merge their operations. The merger, which was provisionally agreed last November, will be finalised this year and is set to create one of the world’s largest airline groups, flying to more than 200 destinations The new company, which [...]
Earlier this month, it was reported that Coventry Building Society was in merger talks with its smaller rival, the Stroud & Swindon. Today, however, the talks have been confirmed and the merger will bring together the country’s third and eleventh largest building societies. The merger, which is subject to approval by the members of Stroud [...]
According to reports this weekend, Coventry Building Society is in merger talks with its smaller rival, the Stroud & Swindon. The talks follow a series of recent mergers between Britain’s building societies and, should a deal be successful, will bring more consolidation to the mutual sector. The news comes as Coventry, which is the country’s [...]
There is further evidence today of consolidation within the mutual sector after it has emerged that Skipton Building Society is to merge with loss-making rival Chesham. Skipton, which is Britain’s fourth largest building society, took over Scarborough BS last summer. Skipton is regarded as one of the stronger building societies by the Financial Services Authority. [...]
Those wishing to consolidate their dates after the expensive Christmas period may be interested to learn about the Nationwide’s new loan deals, which were launched earlier this week. Nationwide has introduced a new personal loan rate of 7.6% APR typical for loans of between £7,500 and £14,999 for up to five years for its main [...]
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is forecasting big losses for the airline industry next year but added that “the worst is likely behind us”. According to the industry body, airlines will suffer losses of $5.6 billion (£3.5 billion) in 2010 - an increase from the $3.8 billion it originally predicted. IATA said that European [...]
It has been reported that the Yorkshire Building Society is in talks with the Chelsea Building Society about a possible merger. Should a deal prove to be successful between the Yorkshire and Chelsea, it would create an institution with over 2 million customers and assets of around £38 billion. The deal will be the biggest [...]
A major restructure at US pharmaceutical giant, Eli Lilly, is set to put UK jobs at risk. The company has announced details of a restructuring programme, which it described as the most significant in its history, will see global headcount reduced by 14% over the next two years. The Indianapolis-based drugs company, which has a [...]
According to The Mail on Sunday, Newcastle Building Society is in advanced talks with Skipton Building Society, which will see further consolidation within the sector. Newcastle BS, which is the country’s 10th biggest building society, has been struggling after a poor performance in 2008 when it reported losses of £35 million as a result of [...]
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Britain’s largest drugs company, has agreed to buy Stiefel Laboratories in a deal worth $3.6 billion (£2.5 billion). GSK is paying $2.9 billion in cash and will take on $400 million of Stiefel’s net debt. Stiefel, the US skincare specialist based in Florida, produces skin treatments for acne and psoriasis. The group is [...]
A year has passed since the government replaced Child Trust Funds with Junior ISAs (JISAs) but more than half of parents are unaware that they exist, according to research by friendly society Family Investments Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were eligible to open a Child Trust Fund and to receive [...]
PPI costs increase for Lloyds and Barclays
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £1 billion to cover compensation costs for customers who were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Yesterday, Barclays revealed £700m of PPI costs in the 2012 third quarter increasing its total provision to £2bn. Lloyds Banking Group, which has made the largest PPI provision out of all the [...]
Bonfire Night worst day for burglaries warns Aviva
Insurance group Aviva is warning households to be vigilant over security at this time of the year, as burglaries tend to increase signficantly between Halloween and Bonfire Night. On Bonfire Night the number of burglaries increases by around 25 per cent compared with an average day, according to the company’s research. Aviva also reported a [...]
Consumer confidence hits six-month low
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents [...]
100,000 mortgage holders escape negative equity trap
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of borrowers in negative equity fell 13 per cent to 719,000 between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The number of borrowers paying a mortgage greater than the value of their property fell despite a further small [...]
Banking commission appoints counsel to cross-examine witnesses
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has appointed counsel to cross-examine witnesses during its inquiry into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Barrister David Quest has been appointed to question witnesses in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into the bank. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Commission said: “This [...]
Mortgage approvals increased in September
An increase in the number of mortgage approvals in September suggests that the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme, launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England, may be starting to give the property market a boost. According to Bank of England figures, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased by 2,103 to 50,024 [...]
Five million paid less than living wage
Five million people in the UK are paid less than the ‘living wage’ of £7.20, or £8.30 in London, according to a new report by KPMG. In Northern Ireland, 24 per cent of workers receive less than they require in order to pay for essentials and the situation is little better in Wales where 23 [...]
Commission calls for radical change in housing market
A new study by the Future Homes Commission suggests that the way homes are built in the UK is dysfunctional and needs a radical overhaul. The organisation, which was established by the Royal Institute of British Architects, believes that 300,000 extra homes could be built every year without any input from Government funding. Instead, the [...]
The UK economy emerged from recession yesterday and now leads the way in Europe according to research group Capital Economics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by one per cent in the third quarter from July to September, the biggest rise for five years, the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. [...]
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