Economic and Market News for 2 March 2021

Oil and gas company Hurricane Energy said it plans to drill a second production well at the Lancaster development programme was thrown into doubt as the proposed side-track appeared to be more...

Shares of Lookers jumped after the UK motor retail and aftersales service company said the UK financial regulator had closed its investigation into the alleged mis-selling of regulated products....

Data solutions provider D4t4 Solutions said it had appointed Nitil Patel as interim chief financial officer. Patel was previously CFO at Dods Group and Ten Alps (now Zinc Media Group). At...

Estate agency Foxtons said it had acquired Douglas & Gordon Estate Agents for £14.25 million. The acquisition was in line with Foxtons stated strategy of acquiring high quality businesses...

Investment management company Man Group reported said funds under management rose to a record levels in 2020, following a return to positive net cash flows. For the year ended 31 December, funds...

Fast fashion retailer Boohoo said denied media reports that it is facing the possibility of an investigation by the US Customs and Border Protection. UK media reports have suggested the company...

Hostel group Safestay said it had sold the smallest of its three hostels in Barcelona for its book value of €0.9 million. The leasehold site, with 96 beds, was sold to Beds and Foods Barcelona....

Safety equipment group Marlowe said it had acquired three businesses in the employment law compliance space for up to a combined £5.2 million. The business included ESP, acquired for £3.2 million,...

Disease testing group Omega Diagnostics said it had signed a contract with Screen4 to provide Covid-testing services. Screen4 was a provider of Covid-19 testing services to the aviation,...

Polling and data group YouGov said it had acquired Toronto-based sports research agency Charlton Insights, for an undisclosed sum. Charlton Insights had been acquired on a three year earn-out tied...

Low-cost carrier Ryanair said its carried 95% less passengers during the month of February, as the pandemic-related travel bans persisted. Passenger volumes in February plunged to 0.5 million,...

Power utility National Grid said it was changing its dividend policy, with growth in the payout from the 2022 financial year onward to be based on the UK consumer price index. The dividend for the...

Drugmakers AstraZeneca and FibroGen said the US Food and Drug Administration would meet with the Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee to review the new drug application for a drug used...

Healthcare property investor Primary Health Properties said it had acquired a purpose-built primary care centre in Shankill, county Dublin, for a cost €3.8 million. The property was developed in...

German business park investor Sirius Real Estate said it had acquired a mixed-use asset in Fellbach, near Stuttgart, for €9.2 million. The purchase price reflected an EPRA net initial yield of...

Infrastructure company Hill & Smith said it had completed the acquisition of Prolectric Services for up to £18.2 million. Prolectric, located in Clevedon, North Somerset, is an off-grid solar...

Aerospace and defence contractor Meggitt said it had won a 'multimillion pound' contract from Boeing for the supply of cockpit indicators on the 737 MAX. This contract expanded Meggitt content on...