Begbies Traynor beats expectations as insolvencies soar
A growing number of insolvencies helped liquidator and administrator Begbies Traynor beat expectations for the year as profits grew to £20.7 million.
The business said liquidations are ahead of pre-pandemic levels, while administrations, which are usually for bigger companies, are not at that level yet but are up significantly from the lows of 2021.
Ric Traynor, executive chair of Begbies Traynor, said he saw further growth in 2023 as insolvencies continue to rise.
“We have started the new year confident in our outlook for a further year of growth. Our insolvency team will benefit from their recent insolvency appointments, together with anticipated further growth in the insolvency market.”
Ryanair returns to profit after Covid but warns that fares will rise further
Ireland’s budget airline Ryanair has returned to profit after the pandemic, but has warned travellers of further fare rises as European short-haul flights remaining under pre-Covid capacity as demand soars.
The company reported a near-record profit of €1.43 billion (£1.24 billion), up from a loss of €355 million, from revenue of almost €11 billion.
The company, run by chief executive Michael O’Leary, said forward bookings into the summer were “strong”, and that we continue to urge all customers to book early to avoid rising ‘close-in‘ prices.”
It added that capacity constraints were likely to continue “for at least 4 more years” and said it expects European airlines to continue to consolidate “over the next two years.”
NatWest stake raises £1.26bn for Government
The Government has raised £1.26 billion after selling more NatWest shares in a move that has reduced its stake from 41.4% to 38.6%.
The disposal, which was completed through an off-market purchase by NatWest, is part of an ongoing plan to wind down the Treasury shareholding taken during the financial crisis. It took place at Friday’s NatWest closing price of 268.4p.
The bank intends to cancel about three-quarters of the shares and will keep the rest in treasury, giving it the flexibility to cancel or reissue them at a later date.
Wise CFO to quit after CEO says he will be stepping away
The CFO of London fintech Wise said he plans to leave the firm just days after its CEO announced he would be taking a multiple-month leave of absence.
Matthew Briers, who has been in his role since 2015, said he will quit the board by March 2024 in order to aid his recuperation from an accident last year. A search for his replacement has begun.
“After almost eight years it’s time for me to think about my life after Wise. ,” he said.
“Wise will likely have many CFOs in its first century and this is simply me starting the process of handing over the reins to the next one. But some of you may know that a year ago I returned back to work at Wise after a quite horrible accident where I went under the wheels of a bus, and so, with this in mind, my focus will shift to making a full recovery.”
Earlier in May, Wise’s billionaire co-founder and CEO said he would be taking three months off work in order to spend more time with his family.
read more here
Markets steady as debt ceiling talks continue
The FTSE 100 index is poised for a positive start to the week, despite continued uncertainty over the state of US debt ceiling negotiations.
CMC Markets expects London’s top flight to open 25 points higher at 7782, having posted a modest rise in Friday’s session.
Today’s forecast improvement comes even though US futures are pointing to a slightly lower start to Monday’s session on Wall Street.
It follows a pullback for the major US benchmarks on Friday afternoon as it emerged that debt ceiling talks between Democrats and Republicans had broken down.
According to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the US could default on its debt by 1 June if agreement is not reached.
Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said: “An avoidance of a default is still the markets base line view even accounting for Friday’s late drop in US markets.
“As we look ahead to a new and another important week, and the resumption of debt ceiling talks later today, there is a sense that we are likely to see a few more twists and turns.”
