Ted Baker's finance director is to leave the company after 17 years to join luxury brand Mulberry.

Charles Anderson will take up his new role as group finance director at the bag-maker and fashion house in October.

He joined Ted Baker as head of finance before being made finance director in 2014, and has also held the role of company secretary.

Mulberry chief Thierry Andretta said: "We are delighted to welcome Charles to the Mulberry team.

"His experience of developing and overseeing a global finance function during a period of international expansion will be relevant as we grow Mulberry worldwide."

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A Ted Baker representative said: "We wish Charles all the best with his future career. He leaves behind a strong team that will continue to help us further develop Ted as a global lifestyle brand.

"We are well under way with the appointment of a successor."

At Mulberry, Mr Anderson will replace Neil Ritchie, who stepped down from the board in June.

Shares in Ted Baker were down 2.45% before lunchtime on Thursday, while Mulberry shares were up 0.85%.

Casino and bingo hall operator Rank has said it saw declining footfall and lower spending over the past year but told investors it is starting to see results from its turnaround programme.

The Mecca Bingo owner said it saw footfall in its bingo halls sink lower, while gamblers spent less in its Grosvenor Casinos sites during the year to June 30.

However, the company said it has seen positive signs after it began implementing a raft of measures in December to stem a period of decline.

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Rank saw its figures for the second half of the year make slight improvements on the start of the year, despite cautious behaviour from customers.

Operating profits in the second half of the year were 20% higher than the same period in 2018, but profits for the whole year slipped 22% to £39 million.

The group saw like-for-like revenues stay roughly flat at £729.5 million and double-figure online growth helped to offset the decrease in spend.

Mecca saw like-for-like revenue fall 2% for the year after it suffered a 9% decline in customer visits.

Grosvenor Casinos saw sales slide 5% in the first half of the year, but they rose 1% in the second half as the business was boosted by new initiatives including a simplified management structure and reduced working hour

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John Laing saw shares slip after the infrastructure investor saw profits slump on the back of challenges in the renewable energy market.

The firm said that its windfarms have not produced as much energy as predicted due to lower levels of wind in Europe than it had anticipated.

The group saw pre-tax profits plummet to £35 million in the first half of 2019, compared to £175 million in the same period last year.

Profitability was dented by £66 million in writedowns on renewable assets in Australia due to transmissions problems, as well as a £55 million writedown in Europe due to the lack of wind.

Shares in the company were down 5.5% at 359.6p.