Gala Coral and creditors close to hammering out deal to ease debt January 18, 2010 GAMBLING group Gala Coral is understood to be days away from a deal to ease its £2.5bn of debts. Gala’s senior lenders — led by Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group and investment group Alcentra — are in advanced talks with the holders of its £540m mezzanine debt about a debt-for-equity swap. The mezzanine [...]
Wimpey sees orders jump January 18, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey said yesterday it entered the new year with a 28 per cent rise in orders for new homes and that it had seen a boost in prices. But the trading update on performance in the 12 months to 31 December saw a drop in the number of homes completed in 2009 compared [...]
Osborne set to meet bankers January 18, 2010 BANKING bosses will meet with George Osborne and Boris Johnson this morning to discuss the Tories’ plans for their industry, City A.M. has learnt. City A.M. understands that those in attendance will include Barclays chairman Marcus Agius, president of Bank of America Merrill Lynch Europe Jonathan Moulds, and vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs Michael Sherwood. Executives from [...]
Insolvencies to peak in 2010 as state props are withdrawn January 18, 2010 THE rate of corporate failures will accelerate in the second half of 2010 as government stimulus measures are unwound, insolvency specialist Begbies Traynor warned yesterday. The firm said 140,000 British companies suffered significant financial problems in the fourth quarter despite measures such as quantitative easing and the 2.5 per cent VAT cut. Begbies Traynor executive [...]
LSE names new director to head post-trade services and cut costs January 18, 2010 THE London Stock Exchange (LSE) yesterday said Kevin Milne has begun work in a newly created job as director of post-trade services, with a brief to bring down clearing and settlement costs as a priority. “While the costs of trading and execution have fallen away quite sharply, the costs of clearing and settlement have not,” [...]
THE YEAR OF THE WEB January 18, 2010 ONLINE shopping revenues generated in China soared by more than 30 per cent to 74.3bn yuan (£6.7bn) in 2009, according to analysis firm iResearch. The company said internet earnings in China from advertising, games and shopping would rise 51 per cent to 112.3bn yuan by the end of this year.
Standard Life unveils new board team January 18, 2010 STANDARD LIFE, Scotland’s biggest insurer, yesterday announced the first major appointments under its new chief executive. In a major re-shuffle, incoming boss David Nish appointed Christian Torkington and Sandy Begbie to the board of executives. Torkington joined the firm from RSA Insurance Group, where he was chief operating officer. Prior to this he held senior [...]
Toyota to boost hybrids output January 18, 2010 TOYOTA intends to double its output of petrol-electric hybrid cars to 1m units next year in an attempt to pull further ahead of its rivals. By 2011, hybrid cars are likely to make up 30 per cent of all vehicles made by Toyota in Japan, up from around 20 per cent in 2009, according to [...]
Spyker says no Saab joint bid January 18, 2010 DUTCH sports-car maker Spyker has denied reports that it plans to make a joint bid for General Motor’s Saab with Genii Capital, a Luxembourg investment firm with a 75 per cent stake in the Renault Formula One team. Spyker chief executive Victor Muller simply responded “no” to a text message from Reuters asking whether Spyker [...]
Henderson to reopen real estate fund January 18, 2010 ASSET management firm Henderson said yesterday it will re-open the New Star International Property Fund, over a year after it was suspended following a spate of redemptions. The fund, the darling of New Star founder and investment veteran John Duffield, originally flourished under his conviction that commercial property would prove resilient in the crunch. But [...]