4G rollout lifts Anite as group looks to sell its travel division May 12, 2014 SHARES in FTSE 250 software group Anite jumped over 10 per cent yesterday after it reported strong fourth quarter trading along with continuing discussions for a disposal of its travel business. Anite said the rollout of 4G networks had boosted demand for its smartphone testing services from the likes of Samsung and Vodafone during the [...]
Babcock and Carillion win Network Rail work May 12, 2014 NETWORK Rail yesterday announced its preferred bidders for lucrative contracts to run its conventional track renewals and improvement work for the next five years. Babcock International won work over three of the seven geographic lots to deliver plain line tracks for Network Rail. The lots are made up of Western, Wales and Wessex; Scotland and [...]
City workers fuel Midtown housing boom May 12, 2014 HOUSE prices in the area dubbed Midtown have outpaced the greater London market in the first three months of the year due to a surge in demand from buyers working in the capital’s financial sector, new research out yesterday shows. According to property consultants CBRE, the price of a property in Midtown – between the [...]
Savills boosted by UK recovery May 12, 2014 PROPERTY advisory firm Savills said yesterday that trading during the first four months of the year was in line with expectations, driven by growth in the UK, and a robust performance in Asia and Europe. The company said the UK’s prime residential market continued to perform well with year-on-year increases in both volume and value. [...]
Pullinger named new stats boss May 12, 2014 JOHN Pullinger was yesterday named as chief executive of the UK Statistics Authority, the country’s national statistician. Pullinger is currently House of Commons librarian and director general, a role he will leave to join the UK Statistics Authority in July. Those who have been watching this job opening have been expecting a candidate with a good [...]
Funeral outfit Dignity slowed by fewer deaths May 12, 2014 THE UK’S only listed funeral provider yesterday said a low death rate at the start of the year had caused a slowdown in trading, though revenues and profits had still risen. Dignity, which famously buried Sir Winston Churchill in 1965, said 7.5 per cent fewer people died in Britain between January and March, which meant [...]
UBM builds up events with deal for Mexican construction show May 12, 2014 MARKETING company UBM yesterday added to its Mexican business by acquiring Expo CIHAC from the Mexican construction trade association for an undisclosed sum. Expo CIHAC attracts 30,000 attendees and generates £4m a year in revenues, UBM said yesterday. The FTSE 250 firm, which now hosts almost half of its events in emerging markets, has in [...]
Just Retirement warns of slower annuity market May 12, 2014 INSURER Just Retirement warned yesterday that its sales of annuities are running at around half the level seen before the government’s Budget in March when a market overhaul was announced. Revealing its third quarter results, the company confirmed that it had been hit hard by the chancellor’s changes to the annuities market, but it added [...]
Brussels committee unveils its five-year plan to save the EU May 12, 2014 THE EUROPEAN Economic and Social Committee (EESC) yesterday unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to rescue the European Union. EESC president Henri Malosse said “70 years of peace do not come by chance” and expressed hope that the European Action Plan would become the lynchpin by which European priorities are set. The document focuses on three [...]
Egdon Resources in advanced talks to buy Alkane shale assets May 12, 2014 ALKANE Energy yesterday confirmed that it is in advanced talks with Egdon Resources to sell its onshore shale gas assets in return for shares, causing the share prices of both Aim-listed companies to surge. If the deal goes through, independent power generator Alkane will own 40m shares in oil and gas explorer Egdon, equating to [...]