CITY VIEWS: IS THE WORST NOW OVER FOR THE BRITISH HOUSING MARKET? May 21, 2009 DAVID THOMSON CHARTERED INSURANCE INSTITUTE“Small shifts in mortgage and house price data is just a blip. The housing market won’t return in terms of volume for several months. Consumers need to feel that there’s an upturn, and buyers need to know they can return to the market with confidence.” GRAHAM RIVERS WIN PLC“Easter always brings an [...]
Ryanair pursues pay cuts for Aer Lingus directors May 21, 2009 IRISH budget airline Ryanair kept up the pressure on arch rival Aer Lingus on Thursday with a campaign to extract large pay cuts from its chairman and non-executive directors. Ryanair, Aer Lingus’ biggest shareholder with a near 30 per cent stake, is proposing the former state carrier’s chairman Colin Barrington receive &1119;35,000 (£30,648) in pay [...]
M&B boss out on hedge loss May 21, 2009 THE BOSS of Britian’s biggest pub chain Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) resigned yesterday after the company revealed it would lose a further £69m in a disastrous bet on interest rates and revealed a 48 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £44m for the six months to 11 April. Chief executive Tim Clarke, stepped down [...]
Nick Leslau’s Max Property wins early success as floats at 200m May 21, 2009 AIM-quoted Max Property Group, the vehicle set up by tycoon Nick Leslau to take advantage of rock bottom property prices, saw its shares trading 30 per cent above their IPO price as they debuted yesterday, after the firm raised £200m in its share offer. The offer price was set at 100p, but the shares were [...]
WHAT DOES TIM CLARKE’S DEPARTURE MEAN FOR MITCHELLS & BUTLERS? May 21, 2009 JOHN BEAUMONT SINGERS “The resignation of Tim Clarke may be a bit of a shock to the market initially. He has been very good at guiding the strategy of the company since its demerger. But this does not change our thoughts that the company is well positioned to continue taking market share and is under-valued. [...]
Shanks seeks 71m in funds May 21, 2009 SHANKS, the waste management group, launched a massively discounted £71m cash call yesterday, saying it needed to cut its debt, and said its pre-tax profit was down 18 per cent to £33.9m. It will issue 158.7m new shares, giving two new shares for every three existing ones, at 45 pence each, around half the company’s [...]
JJB Sports looks forward to future after disastrous year May 21, 2009 JJB Sports yesterday revealed the full horror of the past year, posting a full-year loss of £189.2m. Executive chairman David Jones, the man who formerly led the clothes retailer Next in markedly better times, admitted that under its previous management the group came dangerously close to insolvency. And even at the moment nervousness over the [...]
Scottish eyes EDF’s UK power stations in its growth plans May 21, 2009 SCOTTISH AND SOUTHERN, the energy group, announced its intention to expand yesterday, as it rounded up its debt refinancing project, and reported annual pre-tax profits of £1.25bn, up 2 per cent from £1.22bn last year. The UK’s second-biggest energy producer plans to seek European funding for a wind farm project in the Shetland Islands, which could power [...]
DEFENCE JOBS SLASHED May 21, 2009 WEAPONS tester QinetiQ said yesterday it was slashing 400 jobs, despite a 22 per cent hike in its full-year profits. It said it needed to axe the positions as it restructured its UK division. QinetiQ, like other defence companies, is suffering as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) cuts its orders in the downturn. The MoD [...]
Mandelson warns of GM ‘pain’ May 21, 2009 Business Secretary Lord Mandelson warned yesterday there will be “painful change” after the takeover of GM Europe. He said whichever bidder wins GM’s British arm, Vauxhall, will be forced to cut costs and consolidate. He added he was working hard to secure the future of Vauxhall’s plants. Italian carmaker Fiat and Canadian parts maker Magna [...]