Cosmens and CVC team up for NatExp bid July 23, 2009 NATIONAL Express’ biggest shareholder, Spain’s Cosmen family, is understood to have linked up with private equity firm CVC to table an offer for National Express, in a deal which is thought to value the train and bus firm at £500m. The family, which has an 18.5 per cent holding in the firm, wants to acquire [...]
B&Q owner boosted by summer sun July 23, 2009 KINGFISHER, the owner of DIY chain B&Q, yesterday reported a surprise rise in like-for-like sales in the second quarter, as cash-strapped consumers snapped up summer accessories thanks to a spell of barbeque weather. Kingfisher, which also operates Castorama in France, said it grew its market share in the 10 weeks to 11 July, but that [...]
City Moves who’s switching jobs July 23, 2009 Stephenson HarwoodThe international law firm has hired Duncan Stiles to its corporate practice, specialising in public and private M&A transactions, primarily for FTSE 100 and 250 clients. Stiles joins from rival Ashurst, where he spent over 18 years and became a partner in 2000. In addition to building up a successful M&A practice, he also [...]
CONDOM MAKER DUREX TO FACE A NASTY ITCH AT ANNUAL MEETING July 22, 2009 PRICKLY business is in the offing at today’s annual meeting for investors in Durex condom maker SSL International, as minor shareholder Tariq Siddiqi prepares to take a stand. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Siddiqi shot to fame back in 2005, when he persuaded David Blunkett to take up the bioscience job that eventually [...]
GM upbeat despite poor sales July 22, 2009 General Motors (GM) yesterday announced a 22 per cent year-on-year global sales drop for the first six months of 2009, amid the economic slowdown and the company’s slide into bankruptcy. But GM global sales improved in the second quarter compared with the first quarter and its chief sales analyst said the US economy has been [...]
Euromoney expects drop in revenues to continue July 22, 2009 Financial publishing and events group Euromoney said yesterday that revenues for the quarter to end-June fell 22 per cent at constant currencies, and predicted further declines in subscription revenues for the rest of the year. The company, majority-owned by Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT) – which is due to report today – highlighted customer [...]
TV rights deal sends Arena shares racing July 22, 2009 SHARES in Arena Leisure, the largest racecourse operator in Britain, soared by over 30 per cent yesterday after it announced a deal with Satellite Information Services (SIS) for the provision of horse racing coverage to licensed betting offices in the UK and Ireland. Arena said that it will receive total revenues of around £106m over [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 22, 2009 BSKYBJP Morgan upgraded BSkyB to “neutral” from “underweight”, saying that the regulatory overhang has been removed in the short-term – with Ofcom unlikely to publish its next consultation document until the end of the year – and the focus can shift to operating performance and capital structure. But some factors stop the broker from being [...]
TomTom impresses despite fall July 22, 2009 Dutch navigation device maker TomTom posted better-than-expected second-quarter results yesterday and upped its cost-savings target, raising hopes that efforts to manage its debt and update its business model are bearing fruit. Net profit was €20m (£17.3m), down 61 per cent from a year earlier but beating average analyst expectations of €13m as it sold more [...]
Cadbury signs up to Fairtrade July 22, 2009 The UK’s best-selling chocolate bar, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk, is set to become the largest brand to bear the Fairtrade logo, in a move which will see it try to steal market share from its ethical rivals. It is thought that the tie up between Fairtrade and Britain’s biggest selling chocolate bar will raise Fairtrade sales [...]