Robert Wiseman bullish after milk contract wins July 9, 2009 SCOTTISH dairy group Robert Wiseman said yesterday performance for the first quarter rose 8.5 per cent on the same period last year, thanks to a number of new contract wins. The firm took on three large milk supply contracts with the Co-op and two Spar wholesalers, Cappers and Blakemore. Robert Wiseman plans to increase capacity [...]
Revival in German and UK trade July 9, 2009 BRITAIN’S trade deficit narrowed in May to £2.2bn from £3bn the previous month, according to official data published yesterday. Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the UK’s deficit on trade in goods in May was an estimated £6.3bn, while trade in services remained at £4.1bn. In Germany, exports recovered slightly in [...]
Cattles in negotiations with banks and bondholders as debt deadline expires July 9, 2009 STRICKEN sub-prime lender Cattles was yesterday locked in three-way talks with lenders and bondholders in the hope of securing a standstill agreement on its debts. A £500m portion of its £2.4bn debt pile was due to expire today, but Cattles is hoping to secure a standstill agreement from its lending syndicate, led by Royal Bank [...]
Genus performance still resilient despite gloom July 9, 2009 BULL and pig sperm specialist Genus said yesterday trading over the final quarter of the year was in line with expectations, despite the challenging market conditions. The animal genetics firm expects to report a strong increase in profits for the year to the end of June, boosted by the weakness of sterling and the diverse [...]
Hays: City job market first to stabilise July 9, 2009 HAYS, the country’s largest recruitment firm, said yesterday that the job market in the City has begun to stabilise, as institutions look to position themselves for the opportunities an economic recovery will bring. “The only area of stability we’ve seen is in the City of London,” said the firm’s finance director Paul Venables, defining stability [...]
Primark growth accelerates July 9, 2009 DISCOUNT fashion retailer Primark saw its third-quarter growth accelerate, helped by good weather and the attraction of its low prices in a downturn, but its owner Associated British Foods held to its flat year earnings forecast. The 190-strong stores division reported its sales rose 21 per cent in the 16-week quarter to 20 June, and [...]
Distressed firms depart Aim in growing numbers July 9, 2009 THE NUMBER of Aim-listed companies that have delisted due to financial distress and insolvency soared by 183 per cent in the quarter ending 30 June, according to figures released yesterday. City law firm Trowers & Hamlins and accountancy group UHY Hacker Young published the research, which showed that 34 companies delisted due to financial problems [...]
Jones puts his house in order as loan row grows July 9, 2009 Embattled JJB executive chairman Sir David Jones has put his main home on the market, in the midst of a storm over a £1.5m loan from Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley. It was revealed yesterday that Jones has been trying to sell his seven bedroomed home in West Yorkshire for three months. The property features [...]
GPE to head back into market July 9, 2009 Central London office landlord Great Portland Estates is on the cusp of returning to Britain’s bombed-out property market, despite concerns that unstable economic conditions will persist for months to come. Chairman Martin Scicluna said the company had seen an uptick in “attractively priced acquisition opportunities” in the last two months and was engaged in early [...]
PLUS volumes leap in first half July 9, 2009 Independent stock exchange PLUS Markets said yesterday that the number of shares traded on its platform in the first half of 2009 grew to £36bn, a 217 per cent rise on the same period in 2008. The group said that, by trade value, it traded £29.93bn of shares during the period, up 76.9 per cent [...]