THE DAILY BRIEFING
RESTAURANTS FLOURISH the owner of Zizzi, Ask Italian and Coco di Mama restaurant chains saw its sales increase last year after refurbishments attracted customers.
Azzurri, which owns the three brands as well as pizzeria radio Alice, saw its sales jump 12.5pc to £262.8m in the year to July 2. earnings increased 8.6pc to £38m. MEAT FACTORY Meat packing firm Hilton Food Group is building a £29m processing factory in Auckland, New Zealand, to supply meat to Countdown Supermarkets.
the development will take place as an extension of an existing site.
FLOATS BOOM More than £1.7bn has been raised by firms which have floated on the AIM junior stock
market so far this year, scotching fears of a Brexit slowdown.
research company Dealogic said this was higher than the £1.1bn raised in the whole of last year.
there were £834m of deals in the three months to September 30 alone – the highest figure for that quarter since 2007.
FEES SUFFER British law firms’ fee income has grown just 3pc this year as they fail to handle technological change, according to a report by accountant PwC. And half saw their profits fall. PwC said just 11pc of firms were taking advantage of new data-analysing technology to cut costs.
CATALYST BACKED Private equity firm Livingbridge has invested in City consultancy Catalyst Development.
Catalyst helps banks deal with changing regulation – and, as the financial system is reshaped in the wake of the crisis, Livingbridge believes it is poised to grow.
FRACKING ROLE A former US Army captain has taken command of the shale division at Ineos as the firm founded by billionaire Jim ratcliffe tries to kickstart fracking in the UK.
ron Coyle is being promoted from his role as commercial director of the firm’s phenol division.
Ineos has licences to explore sites across the UK for natural gas and is planning to start drilling test wells very soon. AIRCRAFT DEALS Defence firm Ultra Electronics has been hired to supply aircraft ejection systems to Boeing and Lockheed Martin. the contracts for its Cheltenhambased Precision Control Systems business are worth £12m.