Kingfisher returns £200m to shareholders March 25, 2014 KINGFISHER, the owner of DIY chains B&Q and Screwfix, announced plans to hand £200m to shareholders as brighter prospects in the UK helped boost its full-year performance, sending shares up six per cent yesterday. Finance director Karen Witts said it will launch a multi-year programme starting with £200m in this financial year – its first [...]
Analyst Views: Did Kingfisher’s strong results mask any underlying concerns? March 25, 2014 RICHARD HUNTER | HARGREAVES LANSDOWN Kingfisher is running a tight ship and even before yesterday’s reaction, the share price had risen 41 per cent over the last year. Market sentiment has tended to be guarded given the French exposure, but consensus has recently nudged up to a buy, and is likely to remain anchored after [...]
LA Fitness to sell 33 gym chains after landlords back rescue deal March 25, 2014 LANDLORDS to gym chain LA Fitness have backed a controversial deal allowing the loss-making group to offload nearly half of its clubs and slash its rental bill. LA said yesterday that 33 of its 80 clubs will be put up for sale over the next six months after a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) was supported [...]
China to guide companies on investing in UK March 25, 2014 THE CHINESE government is promoting a guide to investing in the UK, a move lauded by cabinet minister Oliver Letwin who was at the launch of the guide in Beijing. The Asian country’s National Development and Reform Commission revealed the guide yesterday, as part of a wider push to get Chinese companies to invest abroad. [...]
Brand Index: Facebook is far from over the hill for younger users March 25, 2014 FACEBOOK paid the astronomical sum of $19bn for WhatsApp, the mobile messaging smartphone app, last month. One of the reasons for this colossal investment, according to the analysts, is that youngsters are increasingly shunning Facebook as uncool and dominated by older users. However, according to the findings of our latest Children’s Omnibus poll, which surveys [...]
Hedgie swoops into London for glitzy awards March 25, 2014 HEDGE-FUND guru Philippe Jabre had a triumphant time on Park Lane last night, putting his Mayfair trading days and regulatory woes far behind him to take three awards at the HedgePo Investors Choice Awards. Having left London’s GLG Partners to set up Jabre Capital Partners in Geneva seven years ago, his eponymous firm took the [...]
Inflation Fete – Blow up hat to bowl in for summer City festival March 25, 2014 IT JUST ain’t a festival if it doesn’t have a giant inflatable. The Udderbelly festival at Southbank has its giant inflatable upside down purple cow (honestly), Secret Garden Party has a giant inflatable Lionel Richie head and well, as of 2014, the City of London Festival has a giant bowler hat. It’ll be great to [...]
AG Barr profits fizz as it moves further south March 25, 2014 AG BARR reported a near 10 per cent jump in full-year profits yesterday as the Irn-Bru-maker drew a line under its failed merger with Britvic and invested in new products and focused on growing its footprint further south of its Scottish heartland. The drinks giant said profit before tax increased by 9.6 per cent to [...]
Pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond appoints PwC as administrator March 25, 2014 ALBEMARLE & Bond called in administrators yesterday, just a day after the struggling pawnbroker said that its lenders no longer supported the management’s turnaround plan. Albemarle’s board said that the decision had been made due to Albemarle’s inability to regain the support of its lenders on Monday – including Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays to [...]
888 investors dealt a one-off dividend as earnings increase March 25, 2014 SHARES in 888 Holdings, the online poker, bingo and casino firm, jumped more than six per cent yesterday after the company beat profit forecasts for last year and raised its dividend by 56 per cent. 888 is the only online gaming company with operations in all three US states where gambling rules have been relaxed, [...]