THE DAILY BRIEFING

BUYERS AWARE Bovis Homes has brushed off concerns that the referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union is putting off house buyers.

Chief executive David Ritchie said: ‘It has had no discernible impact on our business with strong demand across all our operating areas.’

The company will pay a dividend of 26.3p a share later this month, resulting in a total dividend for 2015 of 40p a share, up from 35p for 2014.

Bovis shares yesterday rose 0.4pc or 4p to 887.5p. LUCKY CHARMS Danish jewellery brand Pandora has been boosted by strong demand in the UK where revenues increased 30pc compared with the same quarter last year.

The company, known for its charm bracelets, has been expanding its product range such as earrings and necklaces. Its rings now account for 20pc of turnover in Britain.

Sales for the group, which operates across 100 countries, rose 34pc to £500m in the first quarter. RICK PICKINGS INSURER to the rich Hiscox has announced a jump in its premium book after honing in on niche areas where it can bring in more customers.

It sold £640.5m of policies in the first quarter, up 14pc on a year earlier.

Its division providing home, fine art and kidnap insurance to high-net worth clients saw premiums jump £29.5m to £289.3m. Shares closed up 1.8pc, or 17p, at 947p.

TELECOMS TAKE- OFF Virgin Media saw revenues rise at the start of the year after a period of record customer growth, as its owner considers a bid for mobile network O2.

The firm brought in £1.1bn in the three months to March 31, a rise of 3.9pc compared to the same period last year. Its customer numbers rose to 5.2m after adding 55,000 subscribers in the first quarter.

Owner Liberty Global said it would consider stepping in if O2’s proposed merger with Three is rejected by regulators in Brussels. RESEARCH REVENUE Clinical research group Venn Life Sciences has seen revenues rise 135pc to £9m in the 12 months to December 31.

It made a loss of £158,000 for the year, compared to a £1.4m loss in 2014, after acquiring rival firm Kinesis which allowed the company to broaden the services it offers. After a rise last week, Venn shares yesterday fell 6.3pc, or 1.75p, to 26.25p.

VIDEO WARS AFTER taking on booksellers and muscling in on supermarkets and Netflix, Amazon now has YouTube in its sights.

The online retailer has launched Amazon Video Direct which lets users post their own footage. Filmmakers will be able to make money by charging viewers to rent or buy their videos or through advertising.