Lloyds in loan portfolio sale June 4, 2014 LLOYDS Bank last night agreed the sale of a portfolio of its UK commercial property loans for £352m in cash to Promontoria Holding. The property loans in the deal reported a loss of £17m during the year to 31 December. Lloyds said the proceeds of the sale would be used for general purposes and it [...]
Home working is on the rise across the UK June 4, 2014 AN INCREASING number of British people are working from home, and on average they earn more per hour than the rest of the workforce, according to official statistics out yesterday. Around 4.2m people work from home in the UK, making up 13.9 per cent of all people in work during the first three months of the [...]
Saga’s adviser proposed higher issue price for the group’s shares June 4, 2014 BANKERS to Saga, the insurance to travel company for the over-50s that has seen its share price fall below its issue price, were last night arguing over where the responsibility lies for what is looking like a botched flotation. As shares in the group fell a further 5.5p yesterday to 172.5p, far below the 185p [...]
OneSavings Bank set to float as demand comes in at lower price June 4, 2014 ONESAVINGS Bank, the group created in 2010 when the Kent Reliance Building Society was rescued by a £50m cash injection from private equity group JC Flowers, is set to press ahead with its flotation after getting sufficient demand from investors at the lower end of its price range. Shares will be priced at 170p, right at [...]
Canaccord on top after IPOs June 4, 2014 BROKERAGE and advisory Canaccord Genuity yesterday said fourth quarter profits had risen four-fold since a year ago thanks to “exceptional” UK and US performance. The Canadian company, which has a strong brokerage presence in London, said net income rose to C$25.9m (£14.1m) from C$6.42m for the three months ending March. In London, the company has [...]
Travelport files for $100m float June 4, 2014 TRAVELPORT, the airline ticketing firm, filed with the US securities and exchange commission yesterday for a US listing. The company, controlled by private equity giant Blackstone, indicated it aims to raise up to $100m (£60m) from the float. The company reported a loss of $27m during the three months to 31 March, compared with a [...]
Inside Track: Tesco’s boss is out on a limb with a limp recovery plan June 4, 2014 PHILIP Clarke is beginning to sound like the corporate equivalent of Alastair Cook at the end of England’s disastrous Ashes defence. On yesterday’s conference call to discuss Tesco’s worst like-for-like sales performance in roughly 20 years, his insistence that his strategy is working sounded faintly ridiculous. “We are more competitive now than we have been [...]
Shell finance chief Simon Henry appointed to Lloyds Bank board June 4, 2014 LLOYDS yesterday brought in Shell’s finance chief as a non-executive director on its board. Simon Henry has held the job at the energy giant since 2009, and has worked his way up the group since joining in 1982. His career has included roles across investor relations, and running finance for the exploration and production parts [...]
GSK agrees to pay $105m fine June 4, 2014 GLAXOSMITHKLINE (GSK) will pay $105m (£62.7m) to settle claims brought by 44 US states over its alleged violations of state trade practices. The payment comes two years after GSK paid a $3bn US Federal fine for marketing some of its drugs without the correct approval from regulators. The company was facing ongoing litigation in the [...]
Amazon’s boss expected to lift lid on new phone June 4, 2014 AMAZON’S chief executive Jeff Bezos will host an event on 18 June in Seattle at which he is expected to unveil a smartphone capable of displaying a 3D interface controlled via body movement. In April Amazon launched the Fire TV, the online retail giant’s first foray streaming content into the living room, following its previous [...]