Hugh Osmond faced with 200m Pearl share loss May 17, 2009 BUYOUT tycoon Hugh Osmond could lose around £200m on the value of his shares in the insurance giant Pearl as part of its emergency debt restructuring deal. Osmond is nailing down details on a deal, which will see its consortium of bankers, led by Lloyd’s Banking Group, restructure its £3bn debt. A source close to the [...]
Trio join the cash call craze May 17, 2009 A TRIO of property companies are setting their sights on fundraising this week to exploit opportunities created in the downturn. Great Portland Estates, Big Yellow Group and Shaftesbury have all been working with advisers on how to tap investors for extra cash. West End property specialist Great Portland Estates, is expected to announce a fundraising [...]
There must be no second thoughts on Crossrail May 17, 2009 TODAY marks a seminal point for the City as the House of Lords discusses the Business Rate Supplements Bill. A bill affecting payments from businesses will clearly always be of huge relevance to the prospects for City firms but this is doubly important because it will determine the future of the Crossrail project. The bill provides the [...]
Fortune signals China recovery May 17, 2009 Jet fuel demand in China rose over the first quarter, oil and gas firm Fortune Oil revealed in an update this morning, boosting hopes of a recovery in Far East air travel demand. Fortune’s BlueSky unit saw a nine per cent year-on-year increase in jet fuel sales over the period, while throughput of crude oil [...]
Firms to ignore FSA pay rules May 17, 2009 Businesses are set to ignore Financial Services Authority guidelines on remuneration and bonuses in order to keep hold of talent, a survey said yesterday. According to research by law firm Pinsent Masons, 84 per cent of companies believe the FSA’s code of practice will have “little or no impact” on executive pay. The findings come [...]
House asking prices rocket May 17, 2009 THE average asking price of a UK property has leapt by 2.4 per cent this month to £227,441, according to data from property website Rightmove data published today. The rise marks the largest monthly increase in asking prices since 2003 when property prices were on a rising trend, but overall asking prices remain 6.2 per [...]
DO YOU EXPECT UK HOUSE PRICES TO KEEP FALLING? May 17, 2009 HOWARD ARCHER IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT “We expect house prices to fall by around another 15 per cent from their current levels to bottom out around mid-2010. This would leave them some 35 per cent below the peak levels seen around August/September 2007.” MICHAEL SAUNDERS CITIGROUP“While housing is past the worst, the recovery in housing activity [...]
Uniqlo considers Gap expansion May 17, 2009 Tadashi Yanai, the Japanese entrepreneur behind Fast Retailing Co, owner of the Uniqlo clothing brand, has fuelled speculation he will bid for rival retailer Gap by saying it was not “a crazy idea”. Previous acquisitions eyed by Yanai include US department store Barney’s and Hong Kong’s Giordano chain, though both ended up falling flat. Yanai [...]
Informa selling off unit to reduce debt pile May 17, 2009 British publishing and events group Informa plans to sell its computer programme management division Robbins-Gioia for £70m as part of plans to sell off non-core divisions to cut debt, it emerged at the weekend. Earlier this month, Informa announced plans to raise about £242m in a two-for-five rights issue in a bid to reduce its [...]
Vodafone stockpiles cash for Vodacom deal May 17, 2009 British mobile phone giant Vodafone has already brought 20.5 billion rand (£1.6bn) into South Africa to buy a 15 per cent stake in local operator Vodacom, the latter’s lawyer said yesterday. With unions trying to block the deal with a last-minute legal injunction, the Vodacom lawyer said the money arrived on 7 May and the [...]