BEST OF THE BROKERS September 7, 2009 C&C GROUPCitigroup upgraded Magners owner C&C Group from a “hold” to a “buy” with a €2.95 target price. It said that underlying trading is challenging, but that management has made significant progress to improve the cost structure of the group. As a consequence, the broker believes top-line growth will be a key driver for the [...]
REI boosted by property recovery September 7, 2009 Property group Real Estate Investors saw its profits spike over the first half of the year as property markets began to emerge from the doldrums. The firm said its rental income was up by 55 per cent to £1.7m over the six months to end of June, while pre-tax profit grew to £1.3m, from £0.7m [...]
Telefonica and Unicom connect September 7, 2009 Spain’s Telefonica has reached a deal with China Unicom that will see the firms buy $1bn worth of each other’s shares as part of a strategic alliance. Telefonica said that its stake in Unicom would rise to about 8.06 per cent, while Unicom would hold between 0.885 and 0.892 per cent of Telefonica. The new [...]
Standard Bank in City relocation September 7, 2009 Standard Bank has taken up residence at a new City headquarters on Gresham Street, in a move which has seen over 1,000 staff relocate from Cannon Bridge House. The group described the new office as “one of the most technologically advanced in London”. The bank now occupies over 117,000 square feet of space at 20 [...]
Opec meeting hikes oil price September 7, 2009 OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna on Wednesday are expected to keep supply targets intact and instead rely on hoped-for economic growth to sustain oil prices. The oil market rose towards $69 (£42) a barrel yesterday after G20 finance leaders said at a weekend meeting they would not end stimulus plans until economic recovery was well [...]
Profits plunge at Lupus after veteran Hutchings makes exit September 7, 2009 INDUSTRIAL buy-out group Lupus Capital, which ousted its entrepreneur chairman Greg Hutchings in July, yesterday scrapped its interim dividend after the economic turbulence caused profits to plunge. Lupus reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of £7.5m for the six months to June, 48 per cent below the £14.5m it recorded over the same period in 2008.Revenue [...]
BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE September 7, 2009 Fan-to-fan ticket sales firm Seatwave has been named as the number one Tech Media 100 Company for 2009 by business intelligence agency Europe-Unlimited. Seatwave, which has seen its revenue rise by 2,203 per cent in the past three years, allows users to buy or sell music, sport or theatre tickets and has been increasingly popular [...]
Financial crisis fuels shareholder engagement with boardrooms September 7, 2009 SHAREHOLDERS have begun wielding their voting power amid the financial crisis, according to research showing that the number of investors in European firms exercising their voting rights at annual general meetings has risen above 50 per cent. Data from shareholder advisory firm Manifest showed that the number of investors using their votes at firms in [...]
Theo Fennell topples into red September 7, 2009 EXCLUSIVE jewellery firm Theo Fennell yesterday blamed its previous management for losing £3.3m on a series of failed projects and dragging the business into the red. The group posted a pre-exceptional loss of £2m for the year ended 31 March, compared to a profit of £1.9m the year before. And a series of ill-judged expansionary [...]
Galliford Try bags new contracts in hotel space September 7, 2009 CONSTRUCTION and housebuilding group Galliford Try has secured four lucrative new contracts in the hotel and residential sectors worth a combined £82.8m. The contracts include a £30m deal to develop a 186-bedroom Radisson Hotel in Guildford and the £28m redevelopment of Coworth Park Estate in Berkshire to create a country house hotel. Galliford Try will [...]