BILL OF THE WEEK June 21, 2009 MONEY was obviously of little concern to these four diners at South Kensington restaurant L’Etranger last week, as they spent a corking £2,263.33 on the restaurant’s “1961 Table” tasting menu. For £500 per person, they ate scallops wrapped in prosciutto parma ham and black tobiko with oyster, chive and champagne vinaigrette; a three-way game platter [...]
Cadbury sales jump as Brits turn to treats June 18, 2009 CHOCOLATE giant Cadbury yesterday reported improved trading in April and May, as a recession-hit Britain snapped up its new “bitesize” range and relaunched Wispa bars. The world’s second-largest confectioner said it was cashing in on the frugal times with the bitesize bags of chocolate-coated sweets as a low-cost treat for consumers, who tend to stay [...]
HOW DO YOU RATE CADBURY’S PERFORMANCE? June 18, 2009 JULIAN HARDWICK RBS“We expect consensus earnings forecasts will be revised down as analysts review their currency assumptions, and this is likely to have some adverse impact on the shares in the near term despite the generally reassuring tone of this update we say “hold”. JEREMY BATSTONE-CARR CHARLES STANLEY“Our “hold” recommendation is based on our perception [...]
Panmure deal gets go-ahead June 18, 2009 SHAREHOLDERS in City stockbroking firm Panmure Gordon have given a resounding show of support to an equity stake-building proposal from QInvest, Qatar’s largest investment bank, as they voted 99 per cent in favour of the deal at a general meeting yesterday. Panmure said in May it had conditionally raised £23m via the share placing agreement, [...]
Finsbury Foods earns its bread and butter in Goswell acquisition June 18, 2009 BAKER Finsbury Foods yesterday announced it taken another bite out of the bread market, acquiring rival Goswell Enterprise for £2.2m. Finsbury Food’s subsidiary bread making unit, Nicholas & Harris, has snapped up Goswell, whose brands include Vogel’s, Cranks, Doves Farm and Caribbean Cuisine. Goswell last year reported earnings before interest and tax of £0.4m in [...]
LITTLE LUXURIES June 18, 2009 LUXURY handbag maker Mulberry yesterday raised hopes that the downturn in the high-end retail sector is starting to ease, after like-for-like sales rose by more than a fifth over the first 10 weeks of its financial year. Mulberry said its understated British style and a new range of cheaper bags had boosted its performance in [...]
Cantillon shuts hedge funds after missing out on rebound June 18, 2009 CANTILLON Capital Management, the asset manager run by William von Mueffling, is closing two embattled hedge funds valued at $3.5bn (£2.1bn) after failing to capitalise on recent market rallies. The US group told its hedge fund investors yesterday they will be handed back what is left of their capital – the two funds fell between [...]
BoA Merill in bonuses row June 18, 2009 BANK of America Merrill Lynch (BoA Merrill) was facing a storm over its use of taxpayers’ funds yesterday despite denying reports that it paid out millions of dollars in retention bonuses without having paid back $45bn (£27.5bn) in state loans. The bank’s new vice chairman of investment banking, Fares Noujaim, along with one of its [...]
Philip Scott to leave Aviva as chief exec seeks fresh talent June 18, 2009 PHILIP Scott is leaving his role as chief financial officer and executive director of blue-chip insurer Aviva, as the group looks for a fresh approach to its ongoing restructuring. Scott is stepping down at the end of the year, after 36 years at the firm, as chief executive Andrew Moss continues the group’s overhaul following [...]
CITY MOVES WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 18, 2009 DeloitteThe professional services firm has appointed Mark Carter and Nick Seaver, pictured, to partner in its UK security, privacy and resilience group. Carter joined the firm in 2005, having previously worked for Accenture and BSkyB. Seaver joined in 2002 as a security, technology and control specialist, focusing on the financial services sector. Nomura The Japanese [...]