* SHELL: Shell made a net profit of $9.65 billion
in the first three months of the year, dropping slightly from
the previous quarter as energy prices cooled but still beating
forecasts.
* HARGREAVES LANSDOWN :Investment platform Hargreaves
Lansdown Plc a jump in its assets under administration
for a three-month period.
* LIONTRUST: British asset manager Liontrust said it
had conditionally agreed to acquire GAM Holding AG, in a CHF 107
million deal.
* MOTHERCARE: Baby products retailer Mothercare had
begun discussions with its lender to change, renegotiate, or
refinance its debt facility due to higher interest rates.
* VIRGIN MONEY UK: Lender Virgin Money Uk reported
fall in half-year profit, hurt by higher provisions for its bad
loans as customers struggled to pay back loans amid a
cost-of-living crisis.
* BAE SYSTEMS: Defence company Bae Systems , stuck
to guidance for earnings to rise again this year, as orders
continued to come in.
* NEXT: British fashion retailer Next maintained its
guidance for annual profit after reporting a slightly
better-than-expected 0.7% decline in first-quarter full-price
sales.
* SMMT: British new car registrations rose for the ninth
consecutive month in April, when it increased by more than 10%
in April from a year earlier, according to preliminary industry
data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
(SMMT).
* VODAFONE: Vodafone and CK Hutchison are
close to agreeing to a 15 billion pounds (about $19 billion)
combination of their UK telecoms businesses that would create
the country's biggest mobile operator, the Financial Times
reported on Thursday.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times > Other business headlines (Reporting by Muhammed Husain and Saikeerthi in Bengaluru)
