Business week in review

In profit...

Ruby McGregor-Smith cheered investors at the opening bell on Monday when FTSE 250 outsourcing group Mitie reported a 5.4 per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £111.1m. Suitably for a company that does the catering at the Chelsea Flower show, boss McGregor-Smith said Mitie "continues to grow".

Ivan Glasenberg, the billionaire mastermind behind the Glencore Xstrata mining and commodities trading empire, launched the newly formed group's inaugural $5bn (£3.3bn) bond issue on Thursday.

It emerged the same day that BT boss Ian Livingston collected nearly £9.6m in 2012, which included £6m of shares as part of a three-year performance plan.

... at a loss

Martin Gilbert, the chairman at First Group, headed for the exit on a low on Monday as the buses and trains group asked investors for £615m to cut debt, and axed its dividend as profit slumped. Gilbert said that he would leave once a successor is found, having led the business since 1995.

On Tuesday, Waterstones managing director James Daunt shocked his staff when he announced the abolition of the roles of branch manager, assistant manager, general manager and deputy manager at the bookseller's 284 shops.

Also on Tuesday, Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland announced an eight-year pre-tax profit low of £564.3m.