WPP (WPP) new boss Mark Read has insisted he has no plans to break up the advertising conglomerate or cut staff as he formally steps into the job left vacant by Sir Martin Sorrell’s shock exit.
United Utilities Group (UU.), Severn Trent (SVT), Pennon Group (PNN) – Water companies have unveiled plans to invest more than £50bn over five years in the processing plants and pipelines that supply homes across England and Wales by 2025, while charging customers less. The utility companies handed their business plans to the regulator yesterday detailing their proposals for investment, customer service and cleaning up rivers which run 5,000 miles through the country.
British air traffic controllers have hit back at claims by Ryanair Holdings (RYA) that they are “discriminating against” London Stansted, the airline’s biggest base globally. The low-cost carrier claimed on Monday that Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures “confirm” allegations that NATS, the Britain’s air traffic controller provider, gave Heathrow “special treatment”. Ryanair alleged that Gatwick “is also being preferred”. NATS, however, dismissed Ryanair’s claims, insisting it “does not discriminate between airlines or airports”.
Anti-fracking activists have been banned from disrupting shale developers at fracking sites in Sussex and Surrey, home to the so-called ‘Gatwick Gusher’. A high court judge agreed on Monday to grant an interim injunction against unlawful protest at the sites operated by UK Oil & Gas Investments (UKOG) which in recent weeks have been dogged by protest. The judge warned protestors that are no longer allowed to ‘slow walk’ along roads used by Ukog and its contractors to disrupt their work.
Sorrell gives thumbs up to new boss as WPP (WPP) prepares for new era. When Mark Read wrote to Sir Martin Sorrell in the 1980s asking for a job, it’s unlikely he expected to get an email from the advertising tycoon thirty years later congratulating him on taking his position at the head of WPP. Even so, Sorrell isn’t convinced that his shoes can be filled by one person. In his congratulations email on Sunday night he made sure to also toast chief operating officer Andrew Scott, who has been sharing the top job with Read since Sorrell’s acrimonious departure in April.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) has warned that contingency planning for a hard Brexit will lead to higher costs, sending shares in the company down by as much as 15%. The company is investing £1m in new lab equipment for its main facility in Skipton, Yorkshire, to allow it to double-test all medication that leaves the UK bound for Europe, in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Royal Mail (RMG) has bought a Canadian parcel delivery business as the former state-owned business continues its plan to break in to new markets. It has bought business-to-business parcel company Dicom Canada for C$360m (£213m) on a debt and cash-free basis from US private-equity group Wind Point Partners.
Investors have given Footasylum (FOOT) a kicking after the fashion retailer issued another profit warning in the face of tough trading and squeezed margins. The Aim-listed company said there was “no sign” of a recovery on the high street, while a decision to hold more clearance sales had put margins under pressure.
