Wolseley out of Ireland in £24m sell-off January 11, 2010 PLUMBING giant Wolseley has sold off its loss-making Irish arm to private investor-backed company WIBHM in a €26.5m (£23.8m) deal. The sale of its 67-strong branch network includes its Heat Merchants, Brooks, Tubs and Tiles and Encon Ireland trading brands in the Republic of Ireland, along with its Northern Irish Brooks business. In the year [...]
Tech-savvy entrepreneurs want less government January 11, 2010 AT the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, new smartphones, e-readers and tablet PCs were unveiled. Although the event was over 5,000 miles away, it’s worth considering the implications for the impending general election here in Britain. As we live more of our lives online and request on-demand information from an array of [...]
Planned retail investment down by half January 11, 2010 THE number of retail investors planning to invest in 2010 has halved since last May, according to new research by the Investment Management Association. A survey of 3,451 small investors showed the number planning to invest has dropped from 30 per cent to 17 per cent. Most investors saw a brighter outlook for global markets [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS January 11, 2010 TOMKINS Numis has upgraded its 2009 and 2010 estimates by 15 and 20 per cent respectively on the basis of rising automotive production and benefits feeding through from restructuring initiatives. However, the broker issued a target price of 180p – below yesterday’s closing price of 210.4p – in the belief 15.8x 2010 EPS is looking [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 11, 2010 Weir Group Jon Stanton will join the company this Spring as group finance director. Stanton, 42, arrives from Ernst & Young where he has worked since 1988. He has been a partner in the London office since 2001 with responsibility for the audit of several FTSE 100 clients, including Invensys, Hanson and InterContinental Hotels. Stanton [...]
D-DAY LOOMS FOR CADBURY PHONEY WAR January 10, 2010 Cadbury shares are set to jump this morning after mounting talk last night that Ferrero could make a joint bid with Hershey for the British confectionery group. Ferrero is thought to be working on a syndicated loan of about €3bn (£2.8bn). According to an Italian newspaper, Mediobanca, which advises the Italian chocolate maker, has contacted [...]
Co-op sales surge after price war January 10, 2010 THE Co-operative Group’s like-for-like sales rose almost 5 per cent after slashing prices in a battle with its rivals over Christmas. The UK’s fifth biggest food retailer – which now has 3,000 stores after buying Somerfield last year – was boosted by a massive advertising campaign and overhaul of brands. Like-for-like sales – including VAT [...]
Blacks Leisure in winter sales boost January 10, 2010 OUTDOOR retailer Blacks Leisure has said that it has benefited from Britain’s cold snap as it reported a 12 per cent hike in sales. Blacks, which runs its own brand shops as well as the Millets chain, said it had “significantly enhanced its recovery prospects” after a restructuring with the closure 87 of loss-making stores [...]
Tate pulls out of hedge funds January 10, 2010 THE trustees of the Tate Gallery have withdrawn from hedge funds after losing £1m on investments. Accounts show that the trust held £6m of its £27m investments in fund of hedge funds at the start of its last financial year. But by March 2009 the gallery had liquidated its entire hedge fund holdings – with [...]
Man United launches bond issue to help cut debt pile January 10, 2010 Manchester United said last night it was seeking to raise £500m through a bond issue to alleviate its £699m debt burden. The Premiership club had been expected to raise £600m via a bond issue. Its finance arm will issue senior secured notes due 2017 to refinance existing debt secured against the club. Last year United’s [...]