Halo: Reach sets sales record September 16, 2010 MICROSOFT has enjoyed the biggest gaming sales bonanza of the year, after a global stampede for the latest instalment of its Halo video game franchise generated over $200m (£128m) of revenues in just 24 hours. Sales of Halo: Reach, a first-person shooter game, stormed past the three-day opening weekends of blockbuster films like Toy Story [...]
Property trust FCPT hires firm to manage portfolio on lower fee September 16, 2010 PROPERTY investment trust FCPT has decided to re-hire F&C REIT to manage its portfolio, after considering changing managers in June in the wake of a failed takeover. F&C REIT has lowered its fees in order to retain the contract to manage assets worth £620m, which was thrown into doubt when FCPT owner Ignis failed to [...]
Spanish builder ACS makes a $3.5bn stock bid for German rival Hochtief September 16, 2010 SPANISH builder ACS plans a lowball bid for German counterpart Hochtief in a move aimed at securing funds to reduce debt and buy a bigger stake in power group Iberdrola. ACS, which already owns 29.9 per cent of the largest German building company Hochtief, announced plans for the nil-premium offer yesterdfay. ACS is bound by [...]
Eversheds set to launch legal consultancy arm September 16, 2010 EVERSHEDS, the City law firm, is to become one of the first legal practices to move into the consultancy arena when the firm launches an independent management consultancy service next week. The new service, Eversheds Consulting, is hoping to rival organisations like PricewaterhouseCoopers and McKinsey & Co, which are already established in the market. Eversheds [...]
Chemring bullish on 2011 as order book almost full September 16, 2010 MILITARY equipment maker Chemring said its order book stood at £819m, 43 per cent higher than at this stage last year and prospects for 2011 were good. The company, which makes ejector seats and pyrotechnic decoys for military aircraft, said trading in the four month period to the end of August had continued to strengthen, [...]
BlueBay sees annual profits nearly treble September 16, 2010 LONDON-based fixed income firm BlueBay Asset Management said pre-tax profit almost tripled in the last year, boosted by higher performance and management fees after a rebound in financial markets. Net income rose to £49.7m in the year to 30 June, up 186 per cent from £17.5m the year before. Performance fees increased 54 per cent [...]
SENIOR BERKELEY EXECUTIVE QUITS September 16, 2010 TONY CAREY (inset), a senior executive at building group Berkeley, has quit the company after 17 years. Carey led Berkeley’s St George business, which develops shops and mixed flats in central London. Last year Carey made £1m. His departure was sudden and took place with “immediate effect”, the firm said yesterday. A spokesman refused to [...]
United Business Media buys US firm for $287m September 16, 2010 BRITISH events and publishing group United Business Media (UBM) has agreed to buy US tradeshows company Canon Communications for $287m to boost its presence in the medical sector and emerging markets. UBM said yesterday the acquisition – the company’s largest since chief executive David Levin joined five years ago — would make it the leading [...]
John Lewis in recovery as its profit rises September 16, 2010 JOHN Lewis warned yesterday that trading conditions were likely to get tougher as tax hikes and public spending cuts hit shoppers, even as it reported a 28 per cent rise in first-half profit. The group, owned by its 70,000 staff, said its strong first-half performance gave it confidence that both its department stores and grocery [...]
Kesa in sales lift thanks to World Cup TV boost September 16, 2010 ELECTRICALS retailer Kesa beat forecasts for first-quarter sales, with trade boosted by robust demand for televisions in the run-up to the World Cup and more sales over the internet. “After a positive first quarter we still anticipate that our markets will remain challenging for the remainder of this financial year,” the firm said yesterday. Kesa, [...]