Bidders line up as Habitat set to change hands in days December 3, 2009 HABITAT, the home furnishing chain, could be sold as early as next week with management and restructuring specialist Hilco said to be the front-running bidder. The retailer, founded in the 1960s by Sir Terence Conran, was put up for sale in October by the Kamprad family. The Kamprad family are also the rich Swedish heirs [...]
Four Dubai banks downgraded by S&P due to Nakheel exposure December 3, 2009 DUBAI’S woes deepened yesterday when four major Dubai banks were downgraded by rating agency Standard & Poor’s. National Bank of Dubai, Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreqbank and Emirates Bank International had their credit ratings cut because of their exposure to Dubai World and its real estate subsidiary Nakheel, which last week shocked financial markets when they [...]
Comcast and GE in NBC deal December 3, 2009 US CABLE group Comcast yesterday bought a majority stake in American media group NBC Universal (NBC) from industrial giant General Electric, creating a $37bn (£22.3bn) media and entertainment giant. Comcast said it would acquire 51 per cent of NBC from GE in a joint venture, with the industry-to-finance conglomerate keeping the other 49 per cent. [...]
DOT COM SURVIVOR TURNS HAND TO HOLLYWOOD SCREENWRITING December 3, 2009 IN the wake of the credit crunch, the dotcom crash of 2001 feels like a small murmur in the history of the City. But ever wondered what happened to those guys who brought open-necked shirts, scooters and start-ups to the Square Mile? Well, one of those who rode the dotcom rollercoaster is now about to [...]
DIYboost for owner of B&Q December 3, 2009 B&Q owner Kingfisher yesterday beat City forecasts for its third quarter, boosted by a change of strategy in China and a renewed interest in home improvement. The group said that pre-tax profits rose in the 13 weeks to 31 October to £227m, compared to £176m last year, ahead of expectations. Kingfisher said that a revival [...]
Law firms hit out at EU super-regulator December 3, 2009 BRITISH law firms slammed the decision taken by EU finance ministers to create a new pan-European system of market regulation yesterday. “The government has allowed these reforms to be rushed through without having engaged in the debate, argued for the right reforms or indeed understood the impact of the proposals on the City,” said Ash [...]
ARE YOU IMPRESSED BY KINGFISHER’S RESULTS? December 3, 2009 DAVID JEARY INVESTEC“While Kingfisher’s impressive earnings momentum looks to have been sustained with the third-quarter results, we believe the market has largely priced in most of the self-help measures, particularly ahead of economic and demand uncertainties in 2010 and much tougher weather-related like-for-like trading comparatives from next Easter. We expect full year consensus pre-tax profit [...]
Food sales at Marston’s lift December 3, 2009 BREWER and pub operator Marston’s yesterday said that profits had continued to fall despite a surge in demand for cask ales and pub food. Marston’s, which owns 2,200 UK pubs including the Pitcher & Piano chain, reported pre-tax profits of £70.3m for the year ended 3 October 2009, down 13.5 per cent on the year [...]
A Google property site is bad news for Rightmove December 3, 2009 BACK in March, I came into the office to find my colleagues huddled around a single computer, clearly enthralled. I assumed from the looks on their faces, and the collective “oohs” and “ahs”, that someone had sent baby photos in. Instead, they were captivated by Google’s Street View mapping service that allows users to see [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 3, 2009 AvivaAviva, the insurance group, announced yesterday that Mary Francis CBE had been appointed as a member of the board’s nomination committee, and took the role on with effect from 2 December this year. Francis is also a senior independent director of Centrica, and a non-executive director at Cable & Wireless. She formerly held senior positions [...]