M&C has assets seized in China April 12, 2010 Hotelier Millennium & Copthorne (M&C) yesterday said a joint venture partner in China had seized control of an office, sacked staff and sold assets including a hotel and a resort. M&C said following his dismissal in November the partner and former manager had procured the sale of the West Coast Resort Hainan Hotel and a [...]
Election spurs British home owners to sell April 12, 2010 SELLERS returned to the property market with a vengeance in March with the net balance of new instructions at its highest level since May 2007, the latest survey from the Royal Institute for Chartered Surveyors (Rics) will show today. A net balance of 21 per cent of surveyors saw a rise in new instructions compared [...]
Zoo Digital enjoys a boost after it upgrades forecast April 12, 2010 ZOO Digital, which helps distribute programmes including Sex and the City, yesterday said full-year turnover would come in significantly ahead of expectations due to a strong pipeline of new contract wins. Zoo expects to report turnover of around $15m (£9.8m) for the year to March, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation coming in [...]
North-South housing divide stark as ever April 12, 2010 THE chasm between house prices in the north and south of the UK is as wide as ever, according to a new report published yesterday. Not one of the ten streets with the lowest average property values in England and Wales was in the south of the country, the property research website Mouseprice Most Affordable [...]
YouGov hit by downturn in Middle East April 12, 2010 POLLSTER YouGov yesterday posted a slide in profits and turnover and highlighted new products it said would help reverse its fortunes. Adjusted pre-tax profit was £1.4m for the half year to the end of January – 41 per cent down on the same period the year before. Turnover was £21.3m compared with £22.6m, the company [...]
Kensington handed £1.2m fine April 12, 2010 MORTGAGE lender Kensington, part of South African bank Investec, was yesterday fined £1.2m for treating its customers unfairly, City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) said. Kensington, bought by FTSE 100-listed Investec in 2007, is paying back a further £1m in fees and charges it levied on borrowers, the regulator said in a statement. The [...]
Palm tipped to be seeking buyer after plunging sales in smartphone market April 12, 2010 SMARTPHONE maker Palm has begun seeking offers for the firm, according to industry insiders. Palm, which makes the Pre and Pixi phones, is working with Goldman Sachs Group and Qatalyst Partners to find a buyer, Bloomberg News has reported. Last year Palm introduced its WebOS operating system, which received positive media reviews but that failed [...]
BLUEGOLD SOARS ON RISING CRUDE TO RETURN 12.5PC April 12, 2010 BLUEGOLD Capital, the energy hedge fund run by Dennis Crema and Pierre Andurand, benefited from the rally in oil futures to return 12.5 per cent to investors in March. The $1.7bn (£1.1bn) fund has recovered from a rocky patch at the start of the year to generate a cumulative 1.5 per cent in the first [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS April 12, 2010 BARCLAYS Seymour Pierce has issued a “sell” recommendation on Barclays, noting that during the last seven years, the bank has grown income by 18 per cent, while avoiding many of the toxic assets and poorly timed acquisitions. Barclays Capital’s top line could be 33 times the revenue of the UK retail bank, which the broker [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 12, 2010 Shepherd and Wedderburn The law firm has elected James Will, the head of its corporate practice, to the position of chairman after over 20 years as a partner at the firm. Corporate partner Andrew Blain takes over as head of corporate, while Guy Winter has been promoted to partner in the same division. Winter joined [...]