Daily business briefing in under two minutes March 19

Your latest business news for Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

Transcript

00:00Hello and welcome to the latest Business Bulletin on Wednesday 19th March.

00:04Britain's oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, has hailed strong half-year results despite a challenging market,

00:10with the Kent-based company also warning of unwelcome cost increases following the budget.

00:14One of the country's largest bakery businesses has enjoyed a successful year.

00:18Finsbury Food Group has posted record revenue and EBITDA in its first results

00:22since it transitioned from being publicly listed to privately held.

00:26Also in manufacturing, AIM-listed electronics specialist Filtronic has expanded its strategic agreement with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

00:33The partnership, which was initially agreed in April 2024, has been expanded to enable an increased allocation of business to Filtronic.

00:40Demand for personalisation of its luxury vehicles has allowed Bentley Motors to report record revenue per car,

00:46despite dips in overall revenue and profit, as the business makes progress on its plans for an all-electric future.

00:52The rise of digital banking has led to about 750 jobs being at risk of redundancy at Santander UK,

00:58as the high street lender announced another 95 branch closures and sweeping changes across its network.

01:04And finally, plans have been approved for a new 102-bedroom hotel in Belfast City Centre,

01:09which involves the restoration and conversion of a landmark building.

01:12The site had previously been lined up for a George Best-themed hotel.

01:16That's all for today. More tomorrow.