Vodafone Europe chief Philipp Humm out in leadership streamlining by Vittorio Colao July 21, 2015 Vodafone Europe chief executive Philipp Humm is out after a streamlining of the mobile operator's leadership by top boss Vittorio Colao. "These changes will simplify and streamline the management of our largest European markets and accelerate our strategic plans in those countries as convergence gathers pace and our Project Spring organic investment programme and focus on [...]
Can GVC trump 888 over Bwin.party? Rivals square up over gambling site acquisition July 21, 2015 Who has the best hand when it comes to taking over Bwin.party? The gambling site may have secured a deal from 888, but now rival group GVC Holdings has confirmed it is in talks about how to get in on the action. Last week 888 made an offer for the business of 104.09p [...]
IG Group share price slides as chief executive Tim Howkins resigns July 21, 2015 Shares in IG Group slid 4.5 per cent to 771p this morning after Tim Howkins said he will retire from his role as chief executive and a director in October, as the company revealed that its full-year profits had been dented by the Swiss franc crisis earlier this year. The financial spread betting firm said Peter [...]
Royal Mail posts flat revenue as letter sending continues to fall July 21, 2015 The figures The continued drop in letter-sending held back Royal Mail in the three months to 28 June, with revenue at the FTSE 100-listed company's core parcels and letters business falling two per cent, primarily thanks to a five per cent fall in the addressed letter volumes in the UK. Even the benefit of the [...]
Watchdog visits Barclays four times a week as FCA takes on Barclaycard oversight July 20, 2015 Barclays was visited by UK regulators on 186 separate occasions last year – more than twice as many times as the next most-visited lender, figures published yesterday show. The bank met with supervisors from the Financial Conduct Authority at its offices roughly four out of every five working days in 2014. The next most visited, [...]
Apax takes control of US-based insurance broker AssuredPartners July 20, 2015 Private equity group Apax has snapped up fast growing US insurance broker AssuredPartners. The broker, which was founded four years ago, was previously owned by buyout firm GTCR and is led by former Brown & Brown executive Jim Henderson. It is currently the sixth largest property and casualty broker in the US, and also has [...]
Aveva share price rises as firm gives up control to French firm Schneider Electric July 20, 2015 British engineering design firm Aveva has sold a majority stake to French rival Schneider Electric in a complex £1.3bn reverse takeover deal. The FTSE 250 firm, which offers software to engineers to design projects like oil rigs and nuclear power plants, will be 53.5 per cent owned by the French firm under the plan’s terms. [...]
Travelodge owners raise for sale sign after strong performance July 20, 2015 Travelodge has appointed Deutsche Bank to explore a sale of the business after it revealed a jump in half year revenues. The hotel company, co-owned by Goldman Sachs, GoldenTree Asset Management and Avenue Capital, was saved from the point of collapse in 2012 by the trio, who are now looking to exit their stake. A [...]
WH Ireland confident as half year results see profits trebling July 20, 2015 Financial services firm WH Ireland said it is “cautiously optimistic” about the next six months of trading, after seeing operating profits almost treble since last year. The firm, which provides corporate broking and private wealth management services, said yesterday that group revenues climbed by nine per cent to £15.9m in the first half of 2015, [...]
IBM earnings: Share price slumps 4pc as revenue falls for thirteenth consecutive quarter July 20, 2015 The figures IBM reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ estimates, but their revenues fell short of expectations, dropping for the thirteenth consecutive quarter. The tech giant reported $20.81bn in sales, down 14.7 per cent over the year and lower than expectations of 20.9bn. Adjusted earnings came in at $3.84 a share, just beating forecasts of [...]