Henderson confirms bid talks for Ridgeworth April 12, 2010 ANGLO-Australian fund manager Henderson Group has confirmed it is in preliminary talks to buy parts of US-based Ridgeworth Capital Management. The group – which has not made a formal bid – could expect to pay around $300m (£194.5m) for the assets. Henderson said in statement to the markets it was “discussions regarding a potential acquisition [...]
Ladbrokes quits Italian market April 12, 2010 LADBROKES has agreed to sell its Italian retail betting and gaming business Itali for €5.25m (£4.61m). Italian gaming group Cogetech will take over the business after its cash offer. In 2009 the Italian retail business made a loss of £9.9m and at 31 December 2009 the carrying value of the business was £26.7m. The Italian [...]
Eurostar bounces back after bleak Christmas April 12, 2010 EUROSTAR has recovered from the breakdowns which blighted the business at the close of last year to record a profits and passenger number boost in the first three months of this year. The Channel Tunnel rail operator hit sales revenue of £178m in the first three months of 2010 – up more than five per [...]
YouGov profits slide – but upturn in sight April 12, 2010 POLLSTER YouGov has seen profits and turnover slide but is relying on new products to 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 said in [...]
UBS earnings hit three-year high April 12, 2010 SWISS banking giant UBS said first-quarter pre-tax profit would be at least CHF 2.5bn (£1.52bn). The group attributed some of the increase in profit in the first quarter to a slowing of client withdrawals in all its business sections. UBS issued the figures in an unexpected interim statement ahead of a shareholder meeting later in [...]
Europe in €30bn Greek loan plan April 11, 2010 EUROZONE politicians moved to soothe markets by spelling out the terms of a rescue package for Greece yesterday, bringing a bailout of the heavily indebted country a step closer. After a week that saw Athens’ borrowing costs driven up by frustrated bond investors, the 16 eurozone finance ministers agreed to lend Greece up to €30bn [...]
Manifestos to target the City April 11, 2010 THE City is set to take centre stage in the general election campaign this week, when the Tories and Labour unveil their manifestos. The Conservatives will confirm plans to raise over £1bn via a levy on banks’ wholesale funding when they release their manifesto tomorrow. Part of that will fund their £550m tax break for [...]
Davies rejects UK board role April 11, 2010 LORD Davies, the minister for trade, investment and small business, yesterday poured cold water on suggestions he is considering quitting politics for a return to the boardroom. Commenting on speculation that he has consulted headhunters over possible roles at the helm of some of Britain’s biggest companies, Davies told City A.M. he has “no desire [...]
Higher tax will make us all worse off April 11, 2010 ECONOMICS is not always intuitive – and that is what makes it such a fascinating and important discipline. Take what economists call “incidence” – the study of who actually bears the burden of a particular tax. It is obvious enough that employees pay income tax. But it is much harder to actually work out who [...]
High street sales jump April 11, 2010 A RISE in high street sales will add to hopes the economic recovery is on track, with a three per cent like-for-like rise expected for March. The figures, to be released later this week by the British Retail Consortium, and KPMG, will be a boon for a sector that has been decimated by the downturn. [...]