News in brief: Co-op Bank freezes small-firm lending, Smiths Group posts gains all round, Man Utd make a £10m debt save

The Co-op Bank is to put lending to small firms on hold as it tries to fix its troubled balance sheet.

Its credit rating was recently axed to junk status, forcing it into talks with City regulator the Prudential Regulation Authority about its future. Co-op Bank has about 100,000 small and medium-sized business customers who could be affected by the move. It comes as the Government tries to persuade banks to boost lending to grow the economy.

Smiths Group posts gains all round

Smiths Group, the FTSE 100 maker of airport security scanners and bomb detectors, grew revenues in all its divisions in the nine months to May, putting underlying operating profit ahead of a year earlier.

At Smiths Medical, which makes catheters and other hospital devices, half of the firm’s revenue growth came from emerging markets. The shares today rose 13p to 1348p.

Man Utd make a £10m debt save

Premier League champions Manchester United have saved themselves £10 million a year in interest after a deal to refinance part of a £367 million debt pile.

The refinancing, arranged by Bank of America, may boost the transfer budget of new manager David Moyes, who takes over from Sir Alex Ferguson next season. The club made interest payments of £46 million in the nine months to the end of March.