Heavyweights beef up Cowdery buyout vehicle Resolution January 27, 2010 RESOLUTION, the buyout vehicle founded by entrepreneur Clive Cowdery, has taken on former Swiss Re chief Jacques Aigrain, ex-Aviva Spain boss Gerardo Arostegui and Mel Carvill, founder of private equity firm PPF Partners, as independent directors. Aigrain left Swiss Re last year after holding the position of chief executive since 2006. Prior to joining the [...]
Software firm SAP sees higher 2010 sales and profits amid tough market January 27, 2010 GERMAN software maker SAP yesterday said it expects to increase core sales and operating margins in 2010 but cautioned that market conditions are still tough because companies remain wary about investing. “What we see is that the markets are still cautious … but what we see in 2010 is it’s going to be a very [...]
Praise for German minister January 27, 2010 Germany’s economy minister yesterday said Axel Weber was doing an excellent job as Bundesbank president but declined to comment on whether he should succeed European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet. A German government spokesman said last week the government had not yet made a decision on who it would like to succeed Trichet as ECB [...]
United losses in fourth quarter January 27, 2010 United Airlines parent UAL posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss as it cut costs to cope with falling demand and said revenue continued to improve. The carrier yesterday said its fourth-quarter net loss narrowed to $240m (£148m), or $1.44 per share, from $1.32bn, or $10 per share, a year earlier.
West End’s strong performance January 27, 2010 London’s West End theatres enjoyed a record year in 2009, shaking off the recession and earning more than £500m for the first time, figures showed yesterday. Attendances reached 14.3m last year, a rise of 5.5 per cent on 2008, and overall box office revenue for central London’s theatreland was £505m, a 7.6 per cent increase.
Big freeze and VAT hike hit January sales January 27, 2010 RETAILERS suffered in Britain’s big freeze as shoppers deserted the high street at the start of the year. Figures from the CBI laid bare the grim news for shops with poor weather and the end of the VAT reduction taking their toll in January. The monthly survey found that 36 per cent of retailers saw [...]
WH Smith sales dive January 26, 2010 WH Smith have reported a 4 per cent drop in like-for-like sales as customers bought fewer books. The figures for the 21 weeks to last weekend showed that the retailer’s High street stores saw a fall of 5 per cent while its travel-based outlets dipped by two per cent. WH Smith has been concentrating on [...]
Pets at Home sold in £995m deal January 26, 2010 PRIVATE equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) is buying British retailer Pets at Home in a deal worth £955m. KKR, whose retail investments include health and beauty group Alliance Boots and toys chain Toys’R’Us, saw off rival bids from Apax, Bain and TPG. Earlier this month Pets at Home posted a 6.7 per cent rise [...]
Greene King ‘weathering well’ January 26, 2010 GREENE King (GNK) may have managed to weather the worst of January’s snow storms, but the integrated pub and brewery giant expects the rest of 2010 to prove even tougher. During the 38 weeks ending 24 January 2010, the Suffolk based pub chain reported a 4.3 per cent growth in sales, despite a three week [...]
Doubts grow over QE end January 26, 2010 THE lower than expected economic growth figure may delay the ending of Quantitative Easing (QE), according to Citi economist Michael Saunders. “Before these data, we judged that there was little chance that QE would be extended at next week’s MPC meeting. “These data introduce considerable uncertainty, but on balance we still believe that the MPC [...]