THE DAILY BRIEFING
REVENUE UP Revenues at car dealer Inchcape climbed to £2.3bn in the three months to September 30 – up 14.6pc on the same period in 2016. This was driven by strong growth in Singapore and an acquisition in South America, but the company warned that the UK vehicle market is slowing.
VETERAN ROLE A City veteran is being lined up to take over as chairman of the Uber UK operation. Laurel Powers-Freeling, an adviser to the Bank of England and former boss of Marks & Spencer Money, is expected to take the role.
PRECIOUS METAL Copper production by Kazakhstan-focused Kaz
Minerals has nearly doubled during the first nine months of the year, compared to the same period last year. Gold production also increased, by 58pc, over the same period.
ONLINE MARKET A new online marketplace for selling cars has been launched by Facebook, using listings from online dealers.
ROUGH RESULTS Losses have widened to £310,798 for miner Botswana Diamonds, up from £303,254 the year before.
FLAT CIDER The owner of Magners cider posted falling half-year sales despite boosting demand for Tennent’s lager. C&C said that its cider sales had remained flat in the UK after consumption was hit by poor weather. The company said that sales in the six months to the end of August fell 6.8pc to £242.4m while profit decreased 9.1pc to £41m.
NORTHERN BASE Dutch investor Waterland Private Equity has opened a British office in Manchester with the intention of boosting its operations after the country leaves the European Union.
£100m RAISED The City’s newest private equity firm, FPE Capital, has raised £100m through its first fund for institutional investors. It is seeking to back companies in IT and business services.
JOBS AXE One of Scandinavia’s biggest banks, Nordea, is to axe at least 6,000 jobs – nearly 20pc of total staff – over the next four years in a bid to stay competitive.
FULL THROTTLE Pick-up truck sales helped Ford motor to a strong finish in the third quarter, despite lower global sales. The carmaker said that its net income rose 63pc to £1.2bn in the three months to September.