City round up: Nichols positive trading update; Gateley eye takeover targets; Boohoo v Ashley latest

Nichols plc, the soft drinks group best known for the Vimto brand, said in a trading statement this morning (15 January 2025) that revenue increased by 0.8% to £172.1m during the year (FY23: £170.7m), in line with market expectations.
The Newton-le-Willows headquartered business said gross margins have continued to improve as inflationary pressures eased during the year.
The International business performed “very strongly” in the second half of the year.
Andrew Milne, Chief Executive Officer of Nichols, said: “I’m pleased to report Nichols delivered a strong performance in FY24, with good progress made against our strategic plan and towards our medium-term financial ambitions.
“Our strategy will drive a high-margin, highly cash-generative, diversified business, built on the unique strength of the Vimto brand. Looking ahead, we remain focused on continuing to execute our strategic plans and driving further progress against our medium-term ambitions.”
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Rod Waldie, CEO of Gateley
Professional services group Gateley saw its underlying profits and revenue rise for the six months to October 31 2024, in what were “pleasing” results for the firm’s CEO.
Revenues rose by 5.3% to £86.3m over the period, with underlying profit before tax up 5.9% to £10.6m.
The firm’s legal services line saw relatively weak growth of 2.1% compared to consultancy service which which grew by 13.6% to £25.7m.
Gateley, which has been hoovering up smaller firms over recent years, says it has a “promising” M&A pipeline as it enters the second half of its financial year.
Rod Waldie, chief executive officer of Gateley, said: “I am pleased with the group’s performance in H1 25.
“The group continues to benefit from the resilience created by our strategy of investing in a diverse and complementary range of professional services.
“We are pleased that our more recent organic investments are beginning to generate positive returns alongside the strong performance from our recently acquired businesses.
“Our balance sheet provides a strong foundation from which to take a long-term view of potential opportunities to further invest in both legal and consultancy services.”
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Mahmud Kamani
Fast fashion group Boohoo is on course to bat off rebel shareholder Mike Ashley’s latest attempt to disrupt the board as Glass Lewis, the independent proxy adviser, has recommended that shareholders vote against Ashley’s bid to remove founder Mahmud Kamani as a director.
Support from Glass Lewis was crucial in the build up to the last attempt to install the Frasers Group founder and a colleague onto the board, which failed at the AGM before Christmas.
In a statement to the market this morning, Glass Lewis is quoted as saying they recognise that the Boohoo board “has initiated significant actions” in recent months, including undertaking the Business Review, strengthening its balance sheet, and introducing leadership changes, including appointing a new CEO and Independent Chair, while transitioning Mahmud Kamani from Executive Chair to Executive Vice Chair.
Glass Lewis conclude that these changes “should enable the Company to retain Mr Kamani’s institutional knowledge and expertise while empowering new leadership to undertake initiatives that will likely be needed to improve the Company’s performance”.