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Belron International's profits soar by 120% as Autoglass owner's sales near £500m

Belron International, the Surrey-based owner of Autoglass, has reported a 120 per cent surge in profit as sales soared to nearly £500m in its latest financial year. The company's pre-tax profit for 2023 was £336.8m, a significant increase from the £155.3m recorded in 2022. According to recently filed accounts with Companies House, the firm's turnover also saw a substantial rise from £346.7m to £499.9m during the same period, as reported by City AM. Founded in Cape Town, South Africa in 1897 and now headquartered in Egham, Belron International operates Autoglass in the UK, Ireland, and Poland. Its other brands include Carglass in most of Europe, O'Brien AutoGlass in Australia, Safelite in the United States, Smith & Smith in New Zealand, and Lebeau and Speedy Glass in Canada. The company is ultimately owned by D'Ieteren Group, with shareholders including Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), Hellman & Friedman, GIC, and BlackRock. The Autoglass parent company attributed the spike in its pre-tax profit to the rise in turnover, which was driven by higher franchise fees. It also reported growth in the USA, France, and Germany. Furthermore, the company noted that its administrative expenses had decreased from £194.7m to £169.9m due to transformation costs being recharged to group entities. Following its improved financial performance, the Autoglass owner issued a dividend of £220m, up from £200m. In an official statement endorsed by the board, the company declared: "The group has continued to pursue its fit for growth profit improvement programme focusing on accelerating growth as well as improving efficiency. Numerous initiatives are underway within this programme." The business expressed, "The group has a clear ambition to become the world's natural choice in vehicle glass repair replacement recalibration."

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Belron International's profits soar by 120% as Autoglass owner's sales near £500m

Black Friday's late timing blamed for 'disappointing' fall in retail sales

The latest survey indicates a disappointing onset to the festive period for retailers, with an acknowledgment that sales downturn may appear more severe due to the Black Friday event occurring outside the survey's timeframe. According to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) sales monitor, there was a 3.3 per cent decline in year-to-November sales volumes compared to the 2.3 per cent rise seen last year, majorly impacted by the timing of Black Friday this time around, as reported by City AM. "While the majority of November’s data tells a disappointing tale for the retail sector, this reporting didn’t include Black Friday week," remarked Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail & leisure at KPMG, noting hopes that consumers waiting for late November deals might offset the bleak figures. However, despite the timing of Black Friday, BRC's chief executive Helen Dickinson pointed out it was "undoubtedly a bad start to the festive season". The reported data showed a year-on-year fall of 2.1 per cent in non-food sales, attributed to "low consumer confidence and rising energy bills" by Dickinson. She also observed that spending on fashion was "particularly weak", proposing that many households had delayed buying winter clothing. Food sales experienced a less dramatic year-on-year growth of 2.4 per cent in November, dropping from last year's 7.6 per cent increase. "Retailers will be hoping that seasonal spending is delayed not diminished," Dickinson commented. The survey contributes to a series of reports indicating an economic slowdown following the government's first Budget.

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Black Friday's late timing blamed for 'disappointing' fall in retail sales

Cardiff-based travel platform Lovetovisit to scale up on multi-million-pound investment

Cardiff-based travel platform Lovetovisit has raised £3.2m to support its scale up plans including international expansion. The latest investment round into the business was led by Venrex and Redrice Ventures. Also participating were Active Partners, Velocity Partners and angel investors. Lovetovisit said the investment will be used to scale operations in the UK and further the platform’s expansion. The team is aiming to double growth and inventory year-on-year for the next three years. The investment will also be used to enhance the platform’s AI capabilities to further optimise the user experience and to scale operations internationally. Read More: Strong first full year of trading for Lovetovisit Read More : Swansea Airport ownership change Founded in 2021 by twin sisters Georgia and Alice Aubrey alongside tourism and culture expert Fed Pereira, the company helps people find and book local attractions, experiences and events. Since launching it has generated total revenues of £7.4m and supported hundreds of thousands of experiences. With more than 2,700 products currently listed on its platform reaching a community of more than 3.2 million users, its proprietary tech platforms allows users to buy tickets in real-time at the guaranteed lowest price. Instead of redeeming tickets via a separate retailer or voucher, tickets are sent instantly to users via text and email. The mobile-optimised platform uses AI to send personalised recommendations to users to help them discover their next trip and offers interactive maps to help them find out what’s going on nearby. The Lovetovisit founding trio, who previously worked together at Mr Pereira’s tourism marketing agency, launched their platform after noticing how difficult it was for consumers to find and book local things to do. Existing partners include Alton Towers, Chester Zoo and ZipWorld, Pennywell Farm, Techniquest Science Museum in Cardiff and local music and food festivals. Moreover, 85% of Lovetovisit’s attractions are outside of London, with days out in Devon attracting more than 25,000 visitors via Lovetovisit since the start of 2024. Alice Aubrey, co-founder said: LovetoVisist has gone from strength to strength this year and we’re incredibly proud to have such esteemed investors on board. Building the business and hitting these milestones alongside my sister is a dream. We each bring unique strengths to the team, but we share a passion for supporting the many amazing events, attractions and experiences in the UK to digitise and scale. "There are so many weird, wonderful and iconic things to do in this country, we just need to make it easier for people to find, explore and book them. Our goal is to be the go-to platform for booking memorable things to do and this raise is a big step towards achieving that mission.” Chief executive Mr Pereira said: “Our tech offers a seamless experience to enable locals and tourists across the UK to do just that. “Having such well-respected investors on board as we double down on our mission to scale domestic tourism in the UK and internationally is a wonderful endorsement of what we’ve built to date and will provide the fuel needed to realise our ambitions over the coming years.” Lilac Watt, investment associate, Venrex Investment Management, said: “We are excited to join Lovetovisit’s journey as new shareholders. Venrex looks to back compelling founders who meet the needs of modern consumers in innovative and tech-forward ways. We have been impressed by the team’s knowledge around the culture and tourism market from day one and we look forward to watching as they build their business at scale.”

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Cardiff-based travel platform Lovetovisit to scale up on multi-million-pound investment

Private equity firm Palatine backs fast-growing edge computing provider

A fast-growing Bristol edge computing provider has secured major investment from Manchester-based mid-market private equity investor Palatine. StorMagic, which is based at Aztec West, will use the cash injection to accelerate its growth. The transaction - the details of which have not been disclosed - was the first through Palatine's new Growth Credit Fund. The fund was established to support UK cyber, tech, AI and advanced manufacturing firms experiencing strong year-on-year revenue growth. The deal follows the fund’s final close in May. Palatine's head of growth credit, Will Chappel, said “We are thrilled to have reached the successful final close of the Growth Credit Fund and to now be supporting those UK regions which have been historically underserved in this asset class. “StorMagic is a fantastic business with a meaningful USP and an impressive international client base. Having followed the business’ growth closely for some time, we are excited to welcome a best-in-class edge computing provider to the fund at a time when innovative, secure and fast connectivity is becoming a business-critical factor for many organisations.” StorMagic was founded in 2006 and helps organisations store, protect, and manage data. The business has thousands of clients around the world and offices in the US and Canada. Dan Beer, chief executive of StorMagic, said: “StorMagic is thrilled to have Palatine’s support as the company recently entered a new market segment with the introduction of [full-stack software service] SvHCI." In February, Palatine Growth Credit appointed venture debt professional Ryan Sorby as partner and head of the North, joining Mr Chappel and non-executive chair Neil Pitcher, the former chief executive of European Venture Partners (now Kreos Capital).

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Private equity firm Palatine backs fast-growing edge computing provider

South Western Railway's new £1bn train fleet finally launched after five-year delay

After enduring a delay of half a decade, South Western Railway proudly presented its £1bn fleet of new trains at London Waterloo Station. The operator is introducing 90 Class 701 Arterio trains to its service, which were built by Alstom in Derby. Yet, the roll-out of these trains has been significantly behind schedule due to an extended conflict with unions concerning safety issues, along with several unrelated technical problems, as reported by City AM. Notably, the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) implemented two months of strikes amidst a dispute over the role of guards and drivers. Further complications arose from faulty software, resulting in many trains being idled in sidings for considerable periods. Earlier this year, train drivers' union Aslef flagged another issue regarding the size of the windscreen wipers on the Arterios, arguing they obstructed the drivers' visibility of trackside signals. Despite these setbacks, a "development" service has been in place, with five Arterios having already been running on routes to Windsor and Eton Riverside and Shepperton. A solitary train commenced operation in January, offering a single return service off-peak between Waterloo and Windsor. South Western Railway's Interim Managing Director, Stuart Meek, commented that the new trains will "completely transform every single journey on our suburban network." Over the upcoming six months, Arterios will be servicing 74 stations and running 80 services during peak times each weekday. Customers on new routes, including those to Dorking, Epsom, Guildford, Hampton Court, and Reading, are set to benefit from increased capacity and improved comfort on their journeys. At the unveiling, Meek conceded to reporters that while new trains would offer improved capacity, they wouldn't address "perennial issues" such as track infrastructure and signalling problems, which have led to numerous delays and cancellations over the past year. The ten-car Arterios are set to accommodate around 50% more passengers compared to the older eight-car Class 455 trains they are replacing.

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South Western Railway's new £1bn train fleet finally launched after five-year delay

Compulsory redundancies at Cardiff Metropolitan University

Cardiff Metropolitan University has confirmed it is making between 30 and 50 compulsory redundancies on top of recent job losses through voluntary severance. The university said that like other universities it is facing financial pressure and "difficult decisions" must be made. Cardiff Met posted a deficit of just over £3.m deficit in the year ending July 2024, its most recent financial report published at the start of this year shows. That report also cited a drop in numbers of international students, rising costs and static home fees - all pressures affecting other institutions. In a statement the university, which has campuses in Llandaff and Cyncoed, said: "Like so many universities across the UK, Cardiff Metropolitan University is experiencing financial challenges, with our current costs exceeding our income. We have already carried out a wide range of activity to support us in meeting this financial challenge, while remaining focused on delivering an excellent student experience and outcomes, and making a positive difference to all of the communities we serve. "To be well positioned for a successful and sustainable future, we, like all universities, need to make some difficult decisions. We have recently closed a final voluntary severance scheme, which, alongside a range of other measures aimed at reducing our pay and non-pay costs, has helped minimise the number of compulsory redundancies we need to make. "However, we must still make further reductions to our recurrent cost base and have this week started collective consultation with our recognised trades unions on restructuring proposals. This consultation will genuinely seek the unions' and our colleagues' collective feedback before any proposals are finalised. "We are encouraging staff to share their views and access the range of support we have made available during this unsettling and difficult time." Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here. The university said it has tried to keep compulsory redundancies to a minimum. Staff had been "critical in supporting our financial recovery programme" and their actions had saved jobs but between 30 and 50 were still needed . "It has not been an easy journey, but their collective efforts in reducing non-pay costs and achieving a strong student recruitment round, plus our active management of staff vacancies and three voluntary severance schemes, have mitigated against the number of compulsory redundancies we need to make. This means that subject to the outcome of the consultation, and the remaining staff approved for voluntary severance signing their settlement agreements, we are expecting between 30 and 50 FTE (full-time equivalent) staff to need to leave the university through compulsory redundancy." Cardiff Met currently has 1,658 staff(1484 FTE) and around 11,300 students at its Cardiff campuses. Staff have been briefed on the cuts and the university has begun collective consultation with recognised trade unions.. The university said it can't share any more detail at this stage but confirmed it is not proposing to close any subject areas, and that staff from across both academic and professional services will be part of the collective consultation.

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Compulsory redundancies at Cardiff Metropolitan University
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