THE DAILY BRIEFING

TURNAROUND BOOST Traders have piled into doorstep lender

Provident Financial amid signs its turnaround plan is gathering pace following an IT disaster.

Its door-to-door debt division, highinterest credit card business Vanquis Bank and car finance brand Moneybarn started the year well. Its shares rose by 8.4pc, or 53.6p, to 695.6p. TAKING CONTROL US firm Encore Capital Group is taking full control of debt collector Cabot Credit Management for £340m.

BANK BACKING Online mortgage service Trussle has won investment from Goldman Sachs as part of a £14m fundraising drive. FUND PLAN City lawyer Rosenblatt wants to launch a litigation fund to pay the bills of people taking court action, in exchange for a cut of the profits if they win.

REPORT FILED Italian bank Unicredit has been reported to the European Banking Authority. Hedge fund Caius believes an accidental error means Unicredit made its financial position look £2.6bn healthier than it is.

FINE IMPOSED The Spanish owner of crisis-hit TSB has been fined £1.4m for buying back capital without permission from regulators.

Sabadell is appealing against the European Central Bank penalty.

SPENDING BOOM Last month saw a rise in consumer spending of 3.4pc as the economy rebounded from the Beast from the East. Entertainment industries performed strongly, with a rise of 7.1pc. INSURANCE DEAL Legal & General is selling home insurance to Coop Bank customers in a new deal. HOMES SWOOP Landlord Grainger has agreed to buy a development in Southampton where 132 homes will be built, for £27m.

RENT AGREEMENT Delivery company DHL is to rent a huge warehouse for 25 years from Segro in east London.

HEATWAVE BONANZA A UK heatwave lifted sales at Waitrose in the week to May 5. Barbecue sales soared 40pc while rose wine and Pimm’s sales were both up 84pc. ORGANIC DIP A 2pc drop in G4S’s organic revenues over the first quarter was partly blamed on costs linked to the roll-out of a new contract in North America. REVENUE PLUNGE Embattled care home chain Four Seasons Health

Care saw revenue fall to £105.6m in the first quarter, from £113.2m. CARAT PREMIUM Miner Lucara Diamond Corp has made sales of £18m, around £295 per carat, during the first quarter of the year. SALES UP Healthcare tech firm Renishaw made sales of £429.9m in the nine months ended March 31, up 11pc on the previous year. Profits before tax rose 49.8pc to £104.4m.

CHIEF SOUGHT Drugs giant Glaxosmithkline is seeking a finance chief to replace Simon Dingemans, who is retiring next May.