Closing post
Time to wrap up…
River Island’s rescue restructure has received approval from a high court judge, a move which will help stop the fashion retailer from falling into administration.
The plan received approval from a high court judge on Friday after the majority of creditors gave their backing to the plan earlier this week.
The bidding battle for NHS landlord Assura also intensified today. Its US suitor KKR lobbied the board to accept its offer, while the competition watchdog stepped up its investigation of Assura’s £1.7bn takeover by a rival UK healthcare investor. Assura is still recommending that its shareholders accept the PHP offer.
Meanwhile, the chief economist at the Bank of England has warned that “persistent inflation” could slow the pace of future interest rate cuts. Huw Pill is one of four members of the monetary policy committee who voted against the rate cut to 4% this week.
Jaguar Land Rover profits slump on weak sales and tariff hit
Profits at Jaguar Land Rover slumped in its quarter ended in June, as the British luxury carmaker has grappled with US trade tariffs and a slowdown in sales.
Underlying pre-tax profit dropped by 49% to £351m in the quarter, with revenue falling by 9% to £6.6bn, thanks partly to a temporary pause in exports to the US and the planned wind down of older Jaguar models before the launch of new electric models next year.
JLR said US tariffs had a “direct and material impact on profitability and cash flow in the period”, but that the “US-UK trade deal will significantly reduce the financial impact of US tariffs going forward”.
The car maker, which is owned by the Indian group Tata Motors, said last month that it would axe up to 500 management jobs in the UK, impacting 1.5% of its UK workforce.
Chief executive Adrian Mardell said the results came amid “challenging global economic conditions”.
We are grateful to the UK and US governments for delivering at speed the new UK-US trade deal, which will lessen the significant US tariff impact in subsequent quarters, as will, in due course, the EU-US trade deal announced on July 27.”
