Metro Bank (MTRO.L)
Metro Bank is cutting 1,000 jobs and putting an end to its trademark seven-day branch model as the lender plots another £30m ($38.36m) of cuts this year.
The troubled high street lender said previously announced plans to cut annual costs by £50m was seeing it shed around 22% of its 4,266-strong workforce by mid-April – higher than the originally expected 20%.
It said it was looking to cut another £30m by the end of 2024, which chief executive Daniel Frumkin cautioned would “inevitably” lead to more jobs going.
He also said that from March 29, all 76 stores will no longer open on Sundays or bank holidays and opening hours will be cut following a review launched last autumn.
Details of the overhaul came as it reported a £16.9m underlying loss for 2023, narrowed from losses of £50.6m in 2022.
On a statutory basis, the group said it returned to profit for the first time since 2018, with pre-tax profits of £30.5m.
Adidas has posted its first loss in more than 30 years as bosses try to turn the brand following the fallout from the end of its deal with controversial rapper Kanye West.
The sportswear giant posted a net loss from continuing operations of €58m as profits dwindled from a sell-off in its discontinued sneaker line with Kanye West. In 2022 it reported a profit of €612m.
Sales fell by 5% to €21.4bn and were hit particularly hard in the United States due to the discontinuation of sales of Yeezy trainers that were designed with West.
Read more: UK economy returns to growth in January
In North America, sales plunged by 21% in the fourth quarter and by 16% over the year.
Adidas’ operating profit also decreased significantly, falling 59.9% from €669m in 2022 to €268m in 2023.
“Although by far not good enough, 2023 ended better than what I had expected at the beginning of the year,” CEO Bjorn Gulden said.
BP has suspended its £2bn joint bid with the UAE’s state-owned oil company to buy a 50% of Israeli gas company NewMed.
NewMed said all parties had agreed to pause negotiations, although Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and BP have reaffirmed their interest in the deal.
The Israeli company added that talks with the UK oil giant and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have been suspended “due to the uncertainty created by the external environment”.
Israel’s military operations have angered most of the Arab world, including the UAE. The death toll has hit 31,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The Hamas incursion killed 1,200 people in southern Israel.
Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML recent threat to leave The Netherlands has revealed that other major companies have also considered moving as the country’s business climate deteriorates.
A Reuters review of Dutch blue chip firms has shown that several companies were prioritising foreign expansion. Despite only a handful of companies said they would consider relocating their headquarters, oil major Shell (SHEL.L) and Unilever (ULVR.L) already have.
Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: London and European markets extend gains as UK GDP grows
The business climate has deteriorated after corporate tax increases and a rise in right wing parties that are pushing anti-immigration policies and more taxes for investors.
SML and other tech firms that depend on foreign staff have warned that such policies undermine the country’s future prosperity.
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