Terra Firma tests water for Infinis sell-off December 15, 2014 GUY HANDS’ private equity firm Terra Firma yesterday gauged buyer appetite for a possible sale of its UK renewable energy company, Infinis. The buyout specialist said in a statement that it was “exploring options to crystallise the value of its 68.8 per cent shareholding in Infinis Energy, including potentially a sale of the stake. Given [...]
BGC buys RP Martin assets December 15, 2014 AMERICAN inter-dealer broker BGC Partners yesterday reached agreement with UK-based rival RP Martin to buy its UK assets. Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed. The New York-based BGC also said it planned to buy RP Martin’s other businesses in Sweden and the Netherlands in 2015. BGC said RP Martin, which employs 170 brokers in [...]
Johnson sheds gold and silver December 15, 2014 FTSE 100-listed chemicals and technologies company Johnson Matthey yesterday struck a £118m deal to sell its gold and silver refining business to Japanese precious metals firm Asahi Holdings. All in cash and subject to the usual post-closing adjustments, the deal is expected to be completed by the end of March next year. Johnson Matthey chief [...]
Bain acquires British brick maker December 15, 2014 US PRIVATE equity giant Bain Capital yesterday acquired one of Britain’s oldest and largest brick makers from Irish building products firm CRH in a deal worth £414m. The FTSE 100-listed CRH announced it had reached an agreement to sell its clay and concrete businesses in the UK and its clay business in the US to [...]
A-Plan bought in £300m deal December 15, 2014 LONDON-based private equity firm HgCapital yesterday bought insurance broker A-Plan from Equistone Partners Europe for £300m. Equistone backed a management buyout of A-Plan in April 2008, acquiring a 32 per cent stake in the firm. According to a person close to the deal, Equistone has made a return of 2.8 times its initial investment. HgCapital [...]
Greggs on a roll as sales rise 5pc on newproducts December 15, 2014 HOT DRINKS and sandwich chain Greggs yesterday said its strategy of launching new product ranges increased its sales, confirming its status as a growing rival for Pret a Manger, Starbucks and Costa. The bakery chain, which has nearly 1,700 stores, reported that sales grew 5.2 per cent in the six months to 13 December, ahead of [...]
Qataris buy HSBC Canary Wharf headquarters in £1bn-plus deal December 15, 2014 THE QATARI sovereign wealth fund attempting a takeover of Canary Wharf Group owner Songbird Estates yesterday snapped up HSBC’s headquarters in the east London financial district. The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) said it had completed its purchase of 8 Canada Square from the National Pension Service of Korea. Both parties declined to comment on the [...]
FCA bans fare-dodging BlackRock manager from financial services December 15, 2014 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority yesterday banned the former BlackRock investment manager Jonathan Burrows from the financial services industry for dodging rail fares worth £43,000. The UK’s financial watchdog said that Burrows, who resigned from BlackRock in August, was “not fit and proper” to have a role in any of the services it regulated. Describing him [...]
Rising prices a bigger burden for low earners as inflation hits those spending least December 15, 2014 Households that spend the least and have lower disposable incomes have been hit harder by inflation over the past decade. Households in the lowest 10 per cent of spenders saw prices rise by 3.7 per cent per year on average between January 2003 and October 2014, figures released yesterday by the Office for National Statistics [...]
Online expansion helps H&M beat analysts’ forecasts in November December 15, 2014 SWEDISH retail giant H&M beat analyst forecasts yesterday, after reporting a 10 per cent rise in sales in November. The group, with 3,511 stores worldwide, said overall net sales from 1 September to 30 November – its fourth quarter – totalled 42.6bn Swedish kronar (£3.58bn), excluding sales tax. That compares with 36.5bn kronar a reported [...]