Saturday banking
NATWEST has opened the doors of three Teesside branches on Saturdays. Branches in Hartlepool, Billingham and Redcar are now open six days a week following the results of customer feedback questionnaires. NatWest is doubling the number of branches is has open for business on Saturdays, from 343 to 686.
PR firm expands
A TEES Valley PR and marketing firm is set to expand its operations with the opening of a new office in the Midlands. Darlington-based Recognition Marketing and PR has in recent years seen a steady increase in clients in the Midlands and south of the country. The new office will open in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Sales down for Blacks
OUTDOOR equipment firm Blacks Leisure today warned first half losses will widen to around £4.5m due to a “difficult” August and plunging surfwear sales. The group, which operates the Blacks and Millets chains, said its outdoor business had performed “broadly” in line with expectations during the period, with like-for-like sales down 5.2%. But boardwear “continued to be difficult”, with same store sales down 16.1%. That dragged group sales down 7.7% overall in the six months to August 30, a deterioration from the 5.4% drop seen during the first 19 weeks.
New borrowing deal
HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey today said it was making progress towards securing new borrowing arrangements. Taylor said banks have indicated they intend to replace existing facilities with a deal “more appropriate to the current environment”. It hopes talks on a new structure can be concluded early next year. The firm added that recent financial turmoil had reinforced its cautious view of the UK housing market. Taylor Wimpey is labouring under an estimated debt mountain of £1.7bn and recently reported half-year losses of £1.54bn because of £586m of writedowns on its UK land portfolio.
