New UK car sales are showing few signs of braking March 6, 2014 BRITISH motorists kept buying new cars in February, industry data out yesterday showed. Registrations rose three per cent on a year ago to 68,736 cars. February is a traditionally quiet month for car purchases ahead of the new year’s number plates being released in March. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has forecast a [...]
Unite launches £100m placing as it plots student digs expansion March 6, 2014 STUDENT housing developer Unite raised £100m yesterday through a share placing as the group seeks to take advantage of growing student numbers and expand its footprint in key regional university towns and cities around the UK. Half of the cash will go towards a £125m plan announced last year to develop 2,500 beds in regional [...]
Cobham boss warns of tough year ahead as profits fall 38pc March 6, 2014 COBHAM’S chief executive yesterday warned that trading would decline in 2014, as full-year profits plunged 38 per cent due to US budget cuts. “Trading conditions are expected to remain challenging in 2014 with potentially significant foreign currency headwinds and continued pressure on US defence and security investment accounts,” said Bob Murphy. “However, we anticipate that [...]
Shaftesbury raises £157m to help acquisition spree in China Town March 6, 2014 SHAFTESBURY has bought a landmark property at the heart of London’s China Town next to the famous pagoda for £54.4m after raising £157m through a share placing yesterday. The West End developer said it has added a 50,000 square feet building on Newport Place to its £460m China Town portfolio and hopes to submit plans [...]
Ex-Rio chief Albanese to lead Vedanta March 6, 2014 FORMER Rio Tinto chief Tom Albanese has been hired as the new head of Vedanta Resources, the Indian conglomerate said yesterday. Albanese left FTSE 100-quoted mining giant Rio in January 2013 after the firm’s misjudged acquisitions in the midst of the commodities boom led to a $14bn (£8.36bn) writedown. He will take up his new [...]
Oscar films help draw crowds at Cineworld sites March 6, 2014 CINEWORLD said the Oscars have helped lure more cinema-goers since the start of the year after its recent acquisition of Poland’s Cinema City group weighed on full-year profits. The cinema chain said the strong line-up of films released ahead of Sunday’s Oscars including 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle meant trading in the first [...]
App backed by Mike Lynch signs Warner Music and Capitol deal March 6, 2014 MUSIC fans will be given the chance to win concert tickets and get access to video content through a new deal signed between major record label Warner Music and Capitol Records, and an app called Taggar – backed by former Autonomy chief executive Mike Lynch. Taggar, which describes itself as ”the world’s first social augmented [...]
City Moves for 07 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 6, 2014 London Offshore Consultants The marine and offshore energy consultancy has named Robin Bidwell as its chairman. He previously built and led global environmental advisory firm Environmental Resources Management. T Rowe Price Peter Hunt has been appointed vice president for UK and Ireland institutional business at the asset management firm. He was formerly a partner at TT International. Before [...]
DS Smith forecasts growth will beat targets after in-line results March 6, 2014 RECYCLED packaging supplier DS Smith yesterday reported in-line results for the third quarter and said growth remains ahead of its medium-term financial targets. The FTSE 250 firm said that like-for-like corrugated box volume growth has remained good, with a particularly strong performance from Germany and central and eastern Europe. The company, which packages McVities Hobnobs [...]
EasyJet and Ryanair lift traffic March 6, 2014 EasyJet carried 4.2m passengers in February, up 2.9 per cent on a year ago, the budget carrier announced yesterday. Its 12-month traffic is up 3.5 per cent on the previous year. Meanwhile, Ryanair hailed its new customer service upgrades for helping boost passenger numbers seven per cent to 4.5m last month, taking its rolling annual [...]