JD Wetherspoon, Carlsberg unite September 15, 2009 Pub group JD Wetherspoon and brewer Carlsberg UK have announced a new partnership to supply Carlsberg and Tuborg beers in all Wetherspoon’s outlets. The deal was unveiled yesterday at a launch at the new O2 Academy in Birmingham. JD Wetherspoon said the move was timed perfectly to exploit Carlsberg’s sponsorship of the FA and the [...]
Conygar to raise 60m in placing September 15, 2009 Property trading and development group Conygar said yesterday it intends to raise at least £60m via a share placing at 105p per share, to position it to take advantage of UK investment opportunities as the property market begins to show signs of recovery. The firm, which has just agreed a £28.8m takeover of The Advantage [...]
Anite warns on first half profit September 15, 2009 IT services firm Anite warned yesterday it expects first half profit to come in significantly lower than last year, due to less favourable currency movements and seasonality as well as the impact of the economic downturn. “As we expected, trading for the year to date has been challenging,” the firm said in a statement. “The [...]
PROPERTY FUND GURUS HEDGING THEIR BETS September 15, 2009 ISN’T IT astonishing to discover the lengths to which advisers will go to finesse their PR message? Yesterday, City A.M. ran a piece about the UK Strategic Income Property Fund. It will be managed by Coba Asset Management’s Graham Gould and BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management, while advisers include industry veteran and former Slough Estates [...]
City warns of flaws in living wills proposal September 15, 2009 THE CITY yesterday flagged up flaws in proposals that will force banks to write “living wills” to help regulators wind them up in the event that they collapse.Chancellor Alistair Darling said yesterday that the government was planning to introduce legislation in November which would require banks to make their corporate structures more simple and provide [...]
WOULD LIVING WILLS FOR BANKS BE A GOOD IDEA OR NOT? September 15, 2009 NIC CLARKE CHARLES STANLEYLiving wills would not be simple to draw up and might prove to be far more complicated for some banks to implement than others. But a safety valve needs to be imposed which would mean that no institution is ‘too big to fail’, as a bank could be wound up quickly, with [...]
German sentiment disappoints September 15, 2009 German market sentiment rose less than expected in September, dampening hopes that Europe’s biggest economy could be headed for a strong recovery. The ZEW economic think tank said that its expectations index for Germany rose to 57.7 from 56.1 in August, its highest point since April 2006, but still much less than analysts expected. The [...]
Depressed Brits turn to herbs September 15, 2009 UK vitamins & supplements company Neutrahealth yesterday said that sales of St John’s Wort – the herbal anti-depressant – has increased by 10 per cent as people struggle to come to terms with job losses or the inability to find new jobs. The group said revenue rose by 43 per cent in the six months [...]
Dunelm sales surge in downturn September 15, 2009 Homewares retailer Dunelm yesterday reported a surge in recent sales growth and said it planned to create up to 1,000 jobs this financial year, boosting its shares 16 per cent to a new high. Dunelm, which sells products like curtains, bedding, blinds, rugs and lighting, said sales at stores open at least a year jumped [...]
POLL: UK FACING INSURER EXODUS September 15, 2009 OVER 60 per cent of top executives at Britain’s insurance firms are feeling tempted to leave the UK because of high taxes, a poll reveals today. The survey of 75 chief executives and finance directors also showed growing pessimism about the competitiveness of the City, with 80 per cent predicting the number of insurers based [...]