Bottom Line: It’s time for Carpetright to put itself right June 24, 2014 Walking away from your labour of love can be a heartbreaking endeavour. Even worse, I’d imagine, when the company that you’ve spent decades building into a retail giant is down in the dumps. Philip Harris, now Baron Harris of Carpetright, is understandably keen to depart on a high note. After all, he’s been in the carpet [...]
Analyst Views: What was your reaction to Carpetright’s results and the board changes? June 24, 2014 FREDDIE GEORGE | CANTOR FITZGERALD With Carpetright coming close to completing a number of initiatives (58 per cent of the store estate has now been modernised), it feels as though it is in a vacuum, awaiting new management to stamp its authority on strategy. We remain convinced that the concept is not in tune with [...]
Terry Smith raises £193m for emerging markets trust fund June 24, 2014 CITY fund manager Terry Smith, the outspoken chief executive of Tullett Prebon, yesterday saw his new investment trust raise over £190m. Fundsmith Emerging Equities Trust, which will buy stock in companies based in emerging markets like China and Brazil, raised £192.9m in total. Shares start trading tomorrow. The launch builds on Smith’s other fund, the [...]
Green Investment Bank to set up £1bn offshore wind projects June 24, 2014 THE GREEN Investment Bank (GIB), the government-backed funding group, yesterday announced that it would launch a £1bn fund to invest in offshore wind projects. The bank, owned by Vince Cable’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, will be established to acquire equity stakes in projects to help boost the UK’s wind power capacity. The launch [...]
Turkey rate cut shocks market June 24, 2014 THE TURKISH central bank announced another rate cut yesterday, surpassing market expectations with a 0.75 percentage point cut in its benchmark rate. The move brings the bank’s main policy rate to 8.75 per cent, easing for the second straight month. “Even though inflation is well above target and the current account deficit remains large, the monetary policy [...]
Abe fires third reform arrow June 24, 2014 JAPANESE Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday released further details of his supply-side reform plans, including corporation tax cuts. The “third arrow” of Japan’s radical package of economic reforms looks to long-term growth challenges. The country is now set to cut corporation tax to below 30 per cent in the next few years, from above 35 per [...]
KKR goes green with wind farm tie-up in Spain June 24, 2014 Private equity firm KKR clinched a landmark green energy deal yesterday after snapping up a stake in a Spanish-based windpower business. KKR, led by veteran buyout pioneers Henry Kravis and George Roberts, will pay €417m (£334m) to buy one-third of Acciona Energy International (AEI), which creates electricity from wind power. The agreement marks one of [...]
Petrofac plays down Iraq risk June 24, 2014 THE CHAOS in Iraq should not have a significant impact on Petrofac’s earnings this year, the oil firm said yesterday. Operations in the country account for just five per cent of its revenues and so far have not been hurt by the carnage. “The group’s backlog stands at record levels, giving us good revenue visibility for the [...]
Investors in Daisy probed June 24, 2014 THE TAKEOVER Panel is said to be investigating whether two investors in telecoms group Daisy have been colluding over their combined shareholding in the Aim-listed firm. The panel has written to Invesco Perpetual and Oakley Capital, which together own about 36 per cent of Daisy, to ask for their views about whether they should be [...]
Senior Whitehall civil servant links up with Panmure Gordon June 24, 2014 CITY broker Panmure Gordon has appointed a senior Whitehall civil servant to its research unit as part of a tie-up with the government. Simon French, chief of staff to the government’s chief operating officer Stephen Kelly, has joined the company on a 12-month secondment as a senior economist in the company’s research division. The placement [...]