Mothercare, Thomas Cook, IMF: Business news in brief on Thursday May 19

Mothercare posts first profit in five years; Mortgage lending falls as stamp duty hike for buy-to-let investors kicks in; IMF backs Saudi reforms

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said £13.8bn was lent during the month, 59% more than in February. (Getty)

Mothercare posts first profit in five years

Shares in Mothercare, a baby goods retailer, soared more than 10 per cent on Thursday after the company posted its first profit in five years.

Mothercare reported a pre-tax profit of £9.7 million in the year to 26 March, compared with a £13.1 million loss a year ago, as like-for-like sales in the UK rose 3.6 per cent year-on-year and online sales surged 15 per cent. Mark Newton-Jones said there is still much to do but the results were “encouraging”.

Mortgage lending falls as stamp duty hike for buy-to-let investors kicks in

Mortgage lending fell back by nearly a third in April as a stamp duty hike for buy-to-let investors came into force, The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said on Thursday. Lending reached £18.5 billion last month, which was 29 per cent lower than the £26.2 billion achieved in March.

CML economists said that buy-to let-investors were taking a back seat while first-time buyers and home movers would be driving the housing market in the coming months.

IMF backs Saudi reforms

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) welcomed Saudi Arabia’s economic reform plan on Thursday and said the kingdom was cutting spending at the right speed to cope with a huge state budget deficit caused by low oil prices.

The reform plan aimed for “an appropriately bold and far-reaching transformation of the Saudi Arabian economy,” the IMF said.

Thomas Cook slumps 18% on terror warning

Thomas Cook share have tumbled after the travel company warned that the number of bookings decreased due to terror fears. Cook’s share price fell by 18 per cent, the lowest since March 2013, as the holidays firm revealed summer bookings were down 5 per cent on 2015.

Demand for other destination such as Spain and Canaries did not make up for slump in demand for terror-hit Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt.