Source: Sharecast
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British defence group Qinetiq said it still expected to deliver organic annual revenue growth of 3% and an operating margin of around 11% despite near-term spending uncertainty. "With an order backlog of around £5bn and a qualified pipeline of £11bn we have significant long-term visibility. Combined with our strong cash flow this allows for both investment in the business and compelling shareholder returns," it said on Tuesday.
Electrical retailer AO World said on Tuesday that its recently acquired recommerce business, musicMagpie, has partnered with Timpson to offer customers a quicker and more convenient way to trade in old smartphones and receive payment almost immediately. After a successful four‑month trial, the service has now rolled out to more than 1,300 Timpson stores across the UK.
Self-storage operator Big Yellow Group reported higher revenues in its third quarter as increased space and higher rents offset a slight dip in occupancy levels compared with last year. Group revenues were up 2% year-on-year at £52.3m over the three months to 31 December, with like-for-like store revenues also growing 2%. The maximum lettable area across its 111 stores expanded 2.2% to 6.562m square feet, while average rent per square foot increased 4%.
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The new owners of the vocational training body City & Guilds appear to have more than tripled the pay of its top six executives right at the moment the company is cutting £22m of costs and shrinking its UK workforce. The large increases to salary and bonuses have emerged during a scandal over the sale of the qualification awards business by its former owner, the UK charity City & Guilds London Institute, to the international certification company PeopleCert. – Guardian
Water companies could be let off fines for polluting the environment under changes announced in the government's new white paper. The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, hailed the changes as "once-in-a-generation reforms" featuring "tough oversight, real accountability and no more excuses". Campaigners called the proposed move to soften the approach to fines "desperate", and said the government was letting companies off the hook. – Guardian
At least 1.5m people have been locked out of homeownership because of Britain's housing crisis, developers have warned. The scale of declining homeownership has been laid bare in a new report from the Home Builders Federation, which has blamed a lack of affordability among first-time buyers. – Telegraph
The UK has retained its ranking among global chief executives as the second most important market for international investment, beaten only by America, but international rivals are "gaining ground". Last year, Britain also secured second place in the annual global CEO survey, the highest position secured by the nation in the 29-year history of the research by PwC. – The Times
More than 10,000 businesses in Britain may save time and money as a result of plans to scrap 33 outdated restrictions, the competition regulator has claimed. The Competition and Markets Authority has set out proposals to ditch so-called "remedies" that were introduced to restrict monopolists or curb other anti-competitive behaviour. – The Times
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Wall Street trading was close on Monday in observance of Martin Luther King Jr Day.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com