River and Mercantile gets £700m Royal Mail Pension Plan contract June 15, 2015 River and Mercantile yesterday announced it will manage the £700m options mandate for the Royal Mail Pension Plan. The advisory and investment business was appointed in April by the FTSE 100-listed Royal Mail and the structure of the mandate was designed and executed last month. “The derivatives team at R&M has a track record of [...]
Au revoir to Verona and Kuala Lumpur as Air France scraps flights June 15, 2015 Air France is chopping three European routes as part of £58m worth of cost-cutting measures in an attempt to restructure the flag carrier. The airline, part of Air France-KLM and the SkyTeam alliance, said it was cutting flights to the loss-making destinations of Stravanger in Norway, Verona in Italy and Vigo in Spain from September [...]
Aviva to cut hundreds of jobs in Manchester area as part of cost-cutting plan June 15, 2015 Aviva will cut hundreds of jobs in the Manchester area over the next 18 months as it closes offices in Stretford and Salford. Following the £5.6bn takeover of rival Friends Life, the insurer has embarked on a cost-cutting plan to deliver £225m in savings to its business by the end of 2017. On top of [...]
Tesco must find £5bn to rebuild its balance sheet, says Moody’s June 15, 2015 Troubled Tesco will need to find £5bn in order to relieve the pressure on its overstretched balance sheet, according to credit ratings agency Moody's. Read more: Here's what assets has Tesco sold off and what's heading to the checkout "It has a relatively high level of debt – also adjusted debt, such as the pension deficit and [...]
Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul stock exchange opens to foreign investors: Here are six companies you should watch June 15, 2015 Today, Saudi Arabia's Tadawul stock exchange opens up to foreign investors for the first time. Worth more than $500bn (£323bn), it represents a huge opportunity for those with an eye for the Middle East's biggest economy. Read more: Now is a better time than ever for women to enter Islamic banking By opening up to foreigners, [...]
Majestic Wine profits fall after group makes big investments for the future with Naked Wines aquisition June 15, 2015 Majestic Wine’s profits fell 12.2 per cent during 2015, after the company spent big in acquiring rival Naked Wines. Chief executive Rowan Gormley admitted the company will suffer a short-term hit to its profit as it looked to invest in the short term. The figures Adjusted profit before tax fell to £20.9m in the 52 weeks [...]
“Gatwick Gusher” firm UK Oil & Gas share price rises as it extends Isle of Wight exploration license June 15, 2015 Shares in UK Oil & Gas (UKOG), the oil exploration company whose shares rocketed earlier this month after it suggested the amount of oil at its Horse Hill well near Gatwick was almost twice as much as previously thought, jumped 4.2 per cent to 2.37p as the market opened, after it was granted a year-long [...]
Thomas Cook targets China with Fosun joint venture June 15, 2015 Thomas Cook, one of the UK's largest holiday companies, today announced plans to take on the Chinese travel market with Fosun International, the Chinese group which took a five per cent stake in Thomas Cook in March. The pair said the venture, which will be launched under the Thomas Cook brand, will be 51 per [...]
House of Fraser owner Sanpower eyes takeover of toy shop Hamleys June 15, 2015 The Chinese owner of House of Fraser is rumoured to be planning another buying spree in the UK with the country’s most famous toy shop Hamleys next on its shopping list. Yuan Yafei, the chairman of Nanjing-based conglomerate Sanpower, is understood to be in talks to buy the famous chain from its French owner, [...]
RBS hiring drive to aid challenger bank Williams & Glyn disposal June 14, 2015 One-fifth of the hires RBS is looking to make fall within the Williams & Glyn challenger bank being carved out of the state-backed lender, illustrating the scale of the task at hand as RBS readies itself to launch the revived brand as its deadline draws nearer. Of the 1,235 open positions being advertised on the [...]