Nearly ￡1BN Wiped Off BT’s Shares After Sky Reveals Deal With Openreach Rival

Part of being a strong leader and professional is knowing what's going on in the world of business around us, and that's not just from the perspective of your own sector. We can learn so much from other sectors and businesses. That's the motivation behind my weekly Brave Bold Brilliant ? business news, to keep you informed of what’s happening globally? – the movers, the shakers, the ones to watch and so much more!

?

Feel free to let me know if there’s anything specific you’d like me to cover in future updates.

?

In the meantime happy reading!

GENERAL

UK on track for record number of new company creations in 2024 - The UK is on track for a record year of new company creations in 2024, new data suggests, in a positive sign for the country’s economic prospects. There were a record 468,000 new business incorporations at Companies House in the first half of 2024, up more than 6% from either half of last year, according to a report from Beauhurst and NatWest .

ON?THE?UP?

Jamie Oliver serves up sales success after flagship London restaurant opens - The group has reported a turnover of ￡27m for 2023 after posting a total of ￡23.6m for 2022, according to newly-filed accounts with Companies House.?Its sales were boosted by the opening of its new Catherine Street restaurant in central London towards the end of the year.

Urban Outfitters reports record sales - Urbn, the owner of Urban Outfitters, Free People and Anthropologie , reported revenue of $1.35bn (￡1.03bn), up 6.3% compared with the same period last year.?US-based Urbn announced that for the six months ended 31 July, net income was $179.3m (￡136.9m).?Total company net sales increased 7.0% to a record $2.55bn (￡1.95bn), during the same period. Its net sales for the three months ended 31 July, increased 6.3% to a record $1.35bn.

London Gatwick Airport profit jumps as long-haul expansion drives growth -?The UK’s second largest airport reported EBITDA growth of 13.9% to ￡106m over the first six months of 2024.?Revenue topped out at ￡488m, up 15.3% year-on-year.

TK MAXX parent company raises annual profit forecast -?TK Maxx reported an 8% year-on-year increase in net sales to $12.8bn (￡10bn) for the second quarter of its financial year, ending 29 July 2023.?Pretax profit margin stood at 10.4% during the quarter, 1.2 percentage points above last year’s 9.2%, driven by lower freight costs. Net income increased 22% to $989m (￡777m).?

麦当劳 to open 200 new restaurants in ￡1bn expansion drive - "Drive to" restaurants - with a car park, a small seating area, and no drive-through - and "other smaller formats" will be tested as part of the new offer.?The move would increase the fast-food chain's UK and Ireland footprint by over a tenth to 1,700 sites.

Claridge's Hotel major expansion helps sales and profit surge - Sales at Claridge’s Hotel surged by more than 20% in 2023 thanks to a “strong” recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and the completion of a major expansion project.?The five-star London hotel has reported a turnover of ￡119.3m for its latest financial year, up from the ￡98.1m it achieved in 2022.?According to newly-field accounts with Companies House, the hotel’s pre-tax profit also jumped from ￡2.2m to ￡7.2m.

London City Airport given go-ahead to expand capacity but more Saturday flying rejected - In one of the first signals of its approach to growing Britain’s aviation sector, the Labour government has granted London City Airport permission to expand capacity significantly. The plans mean the City hub, which is particularly popular among London’s business elite due to its proximity to Canary Wharf, can increase its annual passenger cap from 6.5m to 9m passengers and fly three extra flights in the first half hour of operations.

IN THE DOLDRUMS

VictorianPlumbing.co.uk pulls plug on rival firm three months after acquisition?- Victorian Plumbing is shutting down the rival retailer it bought three months ago, putting a hundred jobs at risk.?The bathroom specialist acquired competitor Victoria Plum in May for ￡22.5m and called it an “exciting strategic milestone” for the business.?Victorian Plumbing said it would continue the ongoing cost-cutting programme that was in place following its rival’s collapse into administration last September, with the intention of keeping both companies trading separately.

Nearly ￡1bn wiped off 英国电信集团 ’s shares after Sky reveals deal with Openreach rival -?Sky said that it would offer broadband via CityFibre ’s fibre optic network, in a move that could put pressure on BT’s Openreach business. Sky is a customer of Openreach, but the emergence of rivals could allow it and other retail internet providers to negotiate lower connection fees.

ONES TO WATCH

WHSmith launches first café in push to hospitality and food-to-go market?- The café, named Smith’s Kitchen, first opened in Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton. The retailer said there are plans to have 495 sq ft café also launch in other hospitals.?Hospitals is an area that’s said to be one of the fastest-growing of its booming travel business.

TPG among suitors for ￡400m Stelios-backed easyHotel chain - The private equity firm TPG is among a pack of suitors vying to buy the easyHotel chain for about ￡400m.?TPG has been shortlisted alongside several other bidders to buy the business, which is backed by the easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou.

SHEIN considers selling shares to public in potential ￡52bn London listing -?The company’s bankers, including J.P. 摩根 , 高盛 and 摩根士丹利 , are pushing for plans to sell to retail investors along with institutional investors. Plans are at an early stage and no decision has been taken yet, the report said. Individual investors are usually only able to buy shares on the open market once trading begins, after banks, funds and asset managers have already had their fill.

Cineworld Cinemas Ltd backers pledge ￡35m investment if UK rescue plan succeeds -?Cineworld's backers have agreed to put up the money for the capital investment plan in a bid to catch up with better-performing rivals.

If you’d like to receive my weekly business news in your inbox every week just sign up today via my linktree or email me via [email protected]

?

#braveboldbrilliant #businessnews #BusinessInsights #businessupdate #newsupdate