Sports Direct has announced that auditor Grant Thornton is set to leave its role working for the retail giant.

Mike Ashley's retail business told investors the accountancy firm provided Sports Direct with a notice on Tuesday and will not seek reappointment as the company's auditor.

Grant Thornton will cease to be auditor for Sports Direct from September 11, when the retailer's annual general meeting will take place, it said.

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Sports Direct said: "Subsequent to the publication of Sports Direct's annual report and accounts on August 2019 13, Sports Direct received notice from Grant Thornton UK LLP (GT) that, following a review of its client portfolio, GT intends not to seek reappointment as the company's auditors and will cease to hold office as auditors of the Company with effect from September 11, 2019, being the date of the company's annual general meeting."

In a joint statement, Sports Direct and Grant Thornton said the end of their working relationship came about as a result of the retailer's "longer term aim of looking to engage a big four auditor in the future".

Grant Thornton has audited the company's accounts since 2007.

Car insurer Admiral has revealed a £33 million hit due to reforms to personal injury compensation and warned that the total impact could be as much as £60 million.

The blow was revealed in half-year results and follows a recent decision to alter the so-called Ogden discount rate used to calculate compensation paid out for personal injury claims.

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Admiral said the total impact could be between £50 million and £60 million.

Despite the charge, it reported a 4% rise in profits to £218 million over the six months to June 30, with customer numbers rising 8% to 6.7 million.

Around 10,000 Admiral staff have landed shares windfalls worth up to £1,800 each as a result of the half-year profits.

The Cardiff-based group announced the bonus as part of its employee share scheme, which comes after workers were handed £3,600 in March after bumper 2018 results.

The group's performance was helped by a turnaround in its UK home insurance business, which swung to a £4.2 million profit against losses of £1.9 million a year earlier thanks to better weather conditions than a year earlier.

Shares in Admiral lifted 4% after the interim figures.

Balfour Beatty's turnaround has continued to gather pace as the firm boosted profits by more than a quarter in the first half of the year.

The company said it has been strengthened by increasing the amount of work it does outside the UK, following a slowdown after the 2016 Brexit referendum.

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Shares in the company surged in early trading after pre-tax profits jumped 26% to £63 million in the six months to June, as it was buoyed by a strong order book.

Revenues grew more marginally, rising to £3.88 billion in the half year from £3.84 billion in the same period last year.

It said its Build to Last turnaround programme has helped improve profits by selecting lower risk contracts and focusing on cash returns.

The FTSE 250 firm said decisions to proceed with the HS2 high-speed rail network and the expansion of Heathrow would significantly improve its outlook.

Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty's group chief executive, said: "This is another strong set of results - increasing profits backed by a strong cash performance, plus carefully managed growth in our order book.

"Today, the group's geographic and operational diversity underpins our risk management, with over 50% of our business and investments portfolio assets outside the UK.

"Combined with the strength of our balance sheet and cash flows, this positions Balfour Beatty to create and return future value to shareholders."