Desmond’s Channel 5 sold to US media group Viacom for £450m May 1, 2014 RICHARD Desmond has agreed to sell Channel 5 to media group Viacom for £450m in a deal that will see the US broadcaster expand its worldwide footprint. The deal, which was signed on Tuesday and announced yesterday, sees Desmond’s holding company Northern & Shell receive a return of more than four times the £103.5m investment [...]
Business lending falls at sharper rate despite continuing recovery May 1, 2014 THE BANK of England announced yesterday that business lending is still declining, and more quickly than in earlier months. Net lending to the UK’s non-financial firms dropped by £2.3bn between February and March, the fastest fall since November. The continued decline in lending to companies comes despite solid economic growth in the first quarter of [...]
Inside Track: TSB and Saga lead the way in a retail investor return May 1, 2014 SO AT last there’s some cheer for the retail investor, whose presence in the new issues market has recently been all but forgotten by those in charge of floating companies on the London market. Much of the euphoria surrounding the retail stampede for shares in Royal Mail, which was supposed to herald a new beginning [...]
UK relationship with Japan gets a boost May 1, 2014 PRIME Minister David Cameron welcomed closer ties with Japan yesterday, after a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. In a joint statement the two countries agreed to closer links between military forces, including joint military exercises and the sharing of information. The statement also commits both nations to closer economic, educational and cultural ties. [...]
Growth remains slow for China’s factories May 1, 2014 CHINA’S industrial base is still growing at a very modest pace, according to a government survey of the manufacturing sector released yesterday. The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector in April came in at 50.4, marginally above the similarly slow growth recorded in March. Any figure above 50 indicates growth. In contrast, HSBC [...]
Banker and diplomat to head UK trade body May 1, 2014 BRITAIN’S ambassador to the UAE was yesterday appointed as the new chief executive of UK Trade and Industry (UKTI). Dominic Jermey has worked for the Foreign Office since 1993, and before that was a corporate financier at J Henry Schroder Wagg. His role is to encourage investment into the UK by foreign firms and businesses, [...]
Fat Face unveils London listing to pay off debt May 1, 2014 FAMILY friendly retailer Fat Face yesterday became the latest private equity-backed retailer to tee up a listing on the London stock market, after announcing plans to raise £110m to cut debt. The business, which has about 200 stores across the UK, will offer shares to City fund managers after private equity backer Bridgepoint moved to [...]
Walkie Talkie signs up two more tenants May 1, 2014 CANARY Wharf Group and Land Securities’ Walkie-Talkie skyscraper is now 87 per cent let after the developers confirmed they had secured two new tenants yesterday. US insurance firm CNA and law firm DWF have agreed to take 35,000 square feet (sq ft) and 43,000 sq ft respectively, joining ten other companies that will soon move [...]
Sky’s costs soar as battle with BT Sport weighs May 1, 2014 BSKYB’S battle with BT continued to take its toll on the pay-TV broadcaster during the nine months to March as profits tumbled 8.5 per cent to £910m amid higher advertising and programming costs. While the broadcaster added 74,000 new television customers during the three months to March, its total customer base grew by only 68,000, [...]
Analyst Views: What do you make of BSkyB’s third quarter set of results? May 1, 2014 PAUL RICHARD | NUMISWe retain our view that Sky is making excellent operational progress, particularly in connected TV services, and we see considerable opportunity in new initiatives including AdSmart and Sky Store, though the Premier League auction continues to overhang the shares. STEVE LIECHTI | INVESTECSky’s third quarter results are mostly as expected with the [...]