BUSINESS LIVE: IHG’s first-quarter revenues rise; Diageo appoints new finance boss; Trainline doubles profits

Trainline shares soared on Friday after it reported it had doubled its profits in the last year and is now Europe’s most downloaded rail app.

The FTSE-250 listed company reported that its operating profits rose from £28million to £56million in the year to the end of February.

(PA) – TGI Fridays operator Hostmore has narrowed its losses for the past year as it pushed forward with its turnaround strategy.

The UK hospitality company reported lower revenues in the face of the challenging backdrop for hospitality firms.

The update comes weeks after Hostmore, which runs 89 sites across the UK, agreed a deal to merge with US-based TGI Fridays Inc, to create a larger firm which will remain listed in London.

Hostmore said on Friday that 2023 was a “transitional year” as it sought to put its finances back on a strong footing.

It revealed revenues for the year to December 31 of £190.7million, dropping from £195.7million in 2022.

Nevertheless, it heavily reduced its pre-tax losses to £25.5million from £108.3million a year earlier.

The reduction came after significant cost-cutting, which it said provided a £6.2million boost last year.

Diners across Britain have hit out at the rise of American-style ‘stealth tipping’ as outlets introduce rip-off service charges to bills that take customers by surprise.

From 15 per cent ‘management fees’ in restaurants to ‘dynamic pricing’ in pubs, customers are having to pay extra amounts in a move branded ‘cynical’ by unions.

Pint-sized bottles of wine are set to appear on UK shelves from September due to new post-Brexit trade rules.

The move to introduce the new 568ml size to sit alongside the 200ml and 500ml measures already available was announced by the Government in December.

Large numbers of mortgage borrowers are continuing to opt for two-year fixed deals in the hope that interest rates will be lower when they next come to remortgage.

Some 42 per cent of all mortgages were fixed for two years in January and February, according to the latest figures from UK Finance.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, comments on Apple’s first-quarter results:

You couldn’t exactly describe Apple’s first quarter results as stellar but being a public company is an expectations game. Like a champion high jumper setting the bar low for a confidence-boosting leap, the company was able to clear analysts’ downbeat expectations.

When you ally that with a genuinely enormous share buyback – worth more than the market value of all but five companies on the FTSE 100 – and a cautiously optimistic outlook for the remainder of the year, it’s no surprise these earnings were well-received by investors.

Sales of the iPhone – the transformative product which has played the biggest part in Apple’s ascent to its current lofty heights – are undoubtedly struggling.

Three quarters of people think that their children will be worse off in the future than they are now, research claims.

Trainline has surpassed £5billion in ticket sales for the first time, as the aggregator enjoyed a recovery in rail travel in Britain and sharp growth across Europe.

The London-listed company’s pre-tax profit more than doubled to £48million in the year ending February 29, buoyed by an easing in rail strikes, which fell to 25 days from 30 in the previous 12 months.

Trainline’s ticket sales grew 22% year-on-year, mainly driven by £3.5billion in UK tickets. The overall British rail market recovered to an estimated £10.6billion in passenger revenues during the reporting period, up from £8.9billion in the prior year.

The bumper year was further boosted by sales across Spain and Italy, which grew a combined 43%, as Trainline further penetrated both international markets.

On the back of its European growth, Trainline also surpassed £1billion in international ticket sales for the first time.

Savvy Britons are cashing in on the boom in gold prices by selling the precious metal to the Royal Mint for a profit.

Gold prices rose throughout 2024 to hit a record high in April, reaching peaks of $2,382 (£1,916) an ounce.

The World Bank has never been more important. The resilience of the global economy as it recovers from the twin shocks of Covid and Russia’s war on Ukraine has been remarkable.

In particular, the inflationary spiral has been halted without huge pain in terms of growth and unemployment.

AIM-listed late-night bars group Nightcap is looking to shake up the sector in a cheeky bid for Revolution Bars.

Revolution met Nightcap to discuss proposals up to and including a full offer for the struggling business, and added that talks are not part of the formal sales process it unveiled in early April.

The City watchdog’s boss Nikhil Rathi is under increasing pressure over plans to ‘name and shame’ firms it is investigating – as peers demanded answers amid an intensifying row.

Rathi has been summoned to appear before a parliamentary committee as it launched an inquiry into the proposals.

The UK was the only one of Europe’s top three economies to record a rise in foreign direct investment last year – in an apparent vote of confidence in Brexit Britain.

Figures compiled by EY showed the number of overseas-backed projects rose by six per cent to 985 while struggling France and Germany saw declines of five per cent and 12 per cent.

Pharma giant Novo Nordisk has seen the booming demand for its weight loss drugs outstrip supply.

The Danish company’s revenues have surged thanks to an explosion in popularity for its diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.