THE DAILY BRIEFING
PROFIT FALL Housebuilder Telford Homes claims that it remains firmly on track for higher annual earnings despite posting a fall in half-year profits and sales.
The London-focused housebuilder reported a 3.3pc drop in pre-tax profits to £8.7m for the six months to September 30, while revenues fell nearly 5pc to £99.3m.
But the firm said that it was ‘well positioned’ to meet expectations for full-year profits of more than £40m, up from £34.1m last year.
RIVAL RECRUITED Sungmahn Seo, chief operating officer at Deutsche Bank’s payments management team, has quit to join US rival JP Morgan, where he will run the european payments team.
LUNCH LAUNCH Online takeaway company Deliveroo has launched a lunchtime meal deal service, Lunchbox, initially for workers in the City of London, Canary Wharf and parts of east London.
FUNDS FEARS european traders are worried by the rise of cheap funds that track the market, a study by Swiss stock exchange Six has found. Around 85pc fear that so-called passive funds, which are largely computerised, could trigger unpredictable swings in prices. Only 40pc said this would be positive.
LOANS DIP Housebuyers took out the fewest mortgages – 64,575 – in more than a year in October, according to the Bank of England, down from 66,232 in September.
F1 DITCHED Bank Santander will no longer sponsor Ferrari’s Formula One motor racing team, after shelling out £ 250m in seven years. Instead, it has unveiled a three-year deal to become a Champions League football partner. AIRLINE COLLAPSE A new airline specialising in skiing holidays looks set to collapse before even getting off the ground.
Some 5,000 holidaymakers are likely to have their skiing plans abandoned after Powdair said its financial backer had walked away from the company.
RESULTS HOPE Online mattress start-up Eve expects strong results in the year to the end of December, with revenue up 130pc this year. Its UK business sales are predicted to rise 105pc compared to a year ago.
JOBS LOST Shoe retailer Shoon has reportedly fallen into administration after failing to find a buyer, leaving around 45 people jobless.
REVENUE RISE estate agent group LSL Property Services reported a 1.1pc rise in revenues for the first ten months to £260.9m. Its companies include Your Move and Reeds Rains.
HQ OVERHAUL A multi-millionpound overhaul of its Seattle headquarters is being planned by tech company Microsoft, to create space for 8,000 more workers.
DIGITAL BANK An online- only bank, Paytm Payments Bank, backed by Chinese e- commerce giant Alibaba, has launched in India, targeting people without accounts.
BLUE LINE Lord Hogan-Howe, Britain’s former top policeman, has signed up as an adviser with HSBC.