THE DAILY BRIEFING
TOURIST BOOM Foreign visitors flocked to Britain in the first three months of the year as the weak pound boosted tourism.
The Office for National Statistics said 8.3m visits were made to the UK, up 9.9pc on the same period of 2016 – the biggest increase for at least five years.
The amount they spent was also up – by 15.6pc to £4.4bn.
FINANCE JOB Online retail and education business Findel has appointed Stuart Caldwell, its interim chief financial officer, to fill the role permanently.
WIFI BOOST Better wifi could be on the way under proposals unveiled by telecoms watchdog Ofcom.
Yesterday, the regulator said wifi would now be allowed to use the 5.8GHz band of the airwaves, allowing faster download speeds.
LAW LISTING London law firm Gordon Dadds is set to become the second law firm, after Gateley, to list on the AIM stock exchange. It has raised £20m and has been admitted with a market cap of £40m.
BOARD DEPARTURE A politician on the board of troubled Acacia
Mining has left. Juma Mwapachu, 74, retired yesterday. Acacia’s shares have plunged in a dispute with the Tanzanian government.
MINE MONEY AIM-listed Arian Silver Corporation is raising £600,000 so it can push ahead with exploring in Mexico, and to potentially buy more lithium prospects.
FISHING DEBUT The UK’s largest fishing tackle and equipment retailer, Angling Direct , listed on the UK’s junior market yesterday, raising £9m.
WYLLIE ROLE The boss of engineering consultancy Costain Group Andrew Wyllie has been appointed to the board of Yorkshire Water as a non-executive director.
HOMES SHORTAGE Builder Telford Homes has said business is booming amid a housing shortage in the capital.
It predicts profits of more than £40m this year and £50m the following year, with its confidence ‘ supported by the chronic need for new homes in London’.
GDP FIGURES The Office for National Statistics is to release UK growth figures on a monthly rather than quarterly basis for the first time, which it said will result in ‘ improved estimates’ of gross domestic product.