Transport group Go-Ahead said its rail division will contribute to Treasury coffers from April after seeing growth in its three commuter franchises.

Energy giant Centrica today said mild spring and autumn weather had fuelled a 30 per cent slide in profits at its residential arms – British and Scottish Gas – to £522 million last year.

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Edinburgh Woollen Mill (EWM) yesterday emerged as the saviour of 6,000 jobs after acquiring part of the failed Peacocks discount fashion chain.

ST JAMES’S Place, the wealth management business majority owned by Lloyds Banking Group, hiked its dividend by a third yesterday as it continues to defy the downturn and attract new business.

Bankers head overseas; Call for tax relief on mortgages; Over 20% of Heathrow flights delayed and GM in talks with Peugeot Citroen

INVESTORS in oil and gas explorer Cove Energy were rewarded yesterday after Royal Dutch Shell offered nearly £1 billion for the company in order to get its hands on its East African gas assets.

A FURTHER bout of money printing to prop up Britain’s ailing economy remains on the cards, analysts said yesterday, as signs of division emerged at the Bank of England.

TECHNOLOGY giant Microsoft yesterday lodged a formal complaint with the European Union’s competition regulator against Motorola Mobility and its soon-to-be owner Google, claiming Motorola’s aggressive enforcement of patent rights breaks EU anti-trust rules.

MORRISON Construction, the Scottish arm of builder Galliford Try, has boosted staffing by well over 50 per cent in the past year to some 800 as its parent posted higher interim sales, profits and dividends yesterday.

Scottish Gas parent Centrica added to its growing portfolio of North Sea assets yesterday, buying stakes in seven producing fields from Total for £246 million.

FTSE 100 CLOSE 5916.55 -11.65

DEPUTY Prime Minister Nick Clegg will announce today that an extra £1 billion is to be made available to businesses seeking support to help them grow and create jobs.

A FALL in direct flights to Scotland could reduce the number of export deals and discourage inward foreign investment, a government adviser has warned.

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Barratt Developments has revealed a strong start to its spring selling season after reservations jumped by a fifth on a year earlier.

The boss of recruitment firm Hays has said there is still evidence that bankers were heading overseas as hiring in the sector fell by around 10 per cent and pushed its UK division to a £3 million loss.

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FTSE 100 CLOSE 5928.20 -17.05

ASDA boss Andy Clarke turned up the heat on Tesco yesterday as he pledged to step up the US-owned chain’s price guarantee scheme.

ENERGY services heavyweight Wood Group yesterday secured a £75 million contract from oil giant Shell for engineering work at its St Fergus and Mossmorran gas terminals.