Iceland makes return to public markets after £950m refinancing August 31, 2014 ICELAND is set to report its first quarterly trading update to bondholders this month after completing a £950m refinancing that saw the frozen foods retailer return to the public markets for the first time in almost a decade. The grocer, which runs 833 stores and franchises in UK and Europe, placed £950m of high yield [...]
3i poised to bid for media data group Gorkana August 31, 2014 FTSE-100 listed private equity outfit 3i is understood to be considering a bid for Gorkana Group, the media information and PR group owned by Exponent. Gorkana operates a media database, with contact details of journalists and public relations advisers. It also offers social media monitoring and press cuttings, generating profits of £15m-£16m in its most [...]
Two Australian firms join chase for Porterbrook August 31, 2014 Th leasing company that owns a third of trains running in the UK looks just the ticket for two Australian investment firms, as they are believed to have jumped on board the chase to buy railway rolling stock supplier Porterbrook. Porterbrook was founded in 1994 during the rail privatisation enacted by the Conservative government led [...]
Emaar to launch biggest listing in Dubai since financial crisis August 31, 2014 THE OWNER of the world’s largest shopping centre is to float in Dubai next month in what would be one of the largest equity sales in the Middle East since the financial crisis. Emaar Properties said yesterday that it expects to launch an initial public offer of at least 15 per cent of its shopping [...]
Afren considers recouping cash from directors August 31, 2014 AFREN, the oil and gas explorer that has suspended a number of board members including its chief executive and operations chief over “unauthorised payments” from third parties, has revealed it may look to recoup some of the cash involved from directors. In its 2014 half year results, released last Friday after being delayed from the [...]
Co-operative Group members vote for wide-ranging reforms August 31, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group’s members overwhelmingly backed a major reform plan this weekend, following the crisis in the mutual’s governing structure. The reforms were a watered-down version of those proposed by former City minister Lord Myners. More than 80 per cent of voting members approved the changes, which reduce the power of elected board members, following [...]
City Moves for 01 September 2014 | Who’s switching jobs August 31, 2014 Cushman & Wakefield James Beckham has been hired to lead the property adviser’s London capital markets practice. He joins from JLL, where he was an international director in its City investment business. Beckham built King Sturge’s City of London capital markets business in the late 1990s. De La Rue Martin Sutherland has been appointed chief [...]
Best of the Brokers for 01 September 2014 August 31, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com DEBENHAMS N+1 Singer has upgraded to “Buy” from “Hold”, but cut the target price to 80p from 85p. The broker thinks Debenhams revised strategy and disciplined approach offers clear medium term upside potential, and that a “trading buy” looks justified now ahead of [...]
London Report: Economic data to show UK recovery on a steady course August 31, 2014 ECONOMIC data due this week appears to show continuing steady growth in the UK’s economy, with little chance of an interest rate rise when the Bank of England announces its latest decision on Thursday. Mortgage approvals data for July, due today, may have dipped slightly, but analysts expect this weakness to be temporary. Meanwhile manufacturing [...]
New York Report: US coal to rise on Russia bid August 31, 2014 BEATEN-DOWN US coal company stocks may receive a lift in coming weeks if deteriorating relations between Russia and the West push President Vladimir Putin to shut off Europe’s natural gas supply. The crisis in eastern Ukraine has emboldened Europe and the United States to impose broad sanctions on Russia. But Europe finds itself in a [...]