Good summer for drinks group
Drinks group Britvic promised annual profits towards the top end of expectations after seeing an improvement in trading over the summer.
Shares in the Tango-to-Robinsons group achieved strong gains as investors welcomed signs of a recovery after profit warnings earlier this year.
Jessops sees shop sales fall
Photographic retailer Jessops said its sales performance had been hit by a surprise softening in its market over the past two months.
Jessops reported a fall of 1.2% in like-for-like sales - stripping out the impact of changes in store space - at its outlets in the 25 weeks to last week, although the figure was 3.6% higher when including online and mail order.
Hastings bought by Australians
The UK's fifth largest car insurance broker Hastings Insurance Services has been snapped up by an Australian firm in a deal worth £140m.
The agreement marks the first move into Europe by Australia's second largest general insurer, Insurance Australia Group (IAG). Hastings' sister company Advantage Insurance is also being sold as part of the deal.
Water demand improves trading
A major UK water business said a surge in demand during the hot summer had lifted its trading performance "materially ahead" of expectations.
Despite the weather and a second successive dry winter, Anglian Water's overall water resources remained within normal operating limits.
Power price rise set for January
One of the UK's biggest power companies said it would increase prices at the start of next year.
Scottish & Southern Energy will increase domestic electricity bills by an average 9.4% and gas by 12.2%. The increases will come into force in January and follow assurances in July that SSE would not raise prices again during 2006.
Small fall in Emap revenues
Media group Emap - publisher of Closer and FHM - said it expected half-year underlying revenues to fall 2% as a strong performance in its women's titles offset poor sales at its men's and car magazines.
