Allegion to pay €210m in offer for SimonsVoss June 29, 2015 Private equity house HgCapital Trust has agreed to sell its European locking systems business, SimonsVoss, to security products specialist Allegion, in a deal valued at €210m (£150m). SimonsVoss was founded in 1995, and generated sales of €52m in 2014. It employs around 275 people. Allegion employs almost 8,500 people and its products are sold in [...]
Fracking: Cuadrilla’s plans rejected by Lancashire County Council in blow to UK’s fledgling shale gas industry June 29, 2015 Plans by Cuadrilla for excavating shale gas in Lancashire via the controversial method of fracking have been rejected by local authorities in a major setback for the UK's shale gas industry. The energy firm has been denied permission to frack at Preston New Road by Lancashire County Council, which last week made a similar decision on [...]
Afghanistan’s pharmaceutical sector gets a boost from London investors June 29, 2015 Afghanistan isn't known for its appeal to foreign investors, but one London-based private equity firm has seen its potential and poured money into a pharmaceutical company there. Read more: Abbvie just bought one of the best pharmaceutical investments ever InFrontier, which was set up specifically to look for investment opportunities in pre-emerging markets, has [...]
General Electric to sell capital fleet to competitor Element Financial for $6.98bn June 29, 2015 General Electric, the American multinational conglomerate, is to sell off GE Capital’s fleet management operations in the US, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand for $6.98bn (£4.44bn) in cash. One of America’s largest companies, GE will sell several of its fleet businesses to a Canadian rival, as part of the firm’s strategy of focuses on its [...]
Tui and Thomas Cook share prices tumble after Tunisia beach attack June 29, 2015 Shares in London-listed holiday firms have taken a tumble after the terrorist attacks in Tunisia on Friday which left more than 30 dead, many of them British tourists. Shares in the package holiday company Thomas Cook fell as much as seven per cent to 133.026 pence per share in early trading, recovering slightly to 139.93 [...]
HSS Hire share price plummets over 25 pc after disappointing six months June 29, 2015 HSS Hire's share price plummeted over 25 per cent this morning after the firm issued a disappointing trading update for the first six months of the year. Read more: HSS Hire returns to takeover fray after IPO with £11m All Seasons aircon deal The tool hire firm said weakness in customer activity hit "a number of [...]
Richard Caring toasts a rise in sales at his restaurant empire June 28, 2015 Richard Caring’s collection of restaurants and nightclubs recorded a rise in sales in 2013. His company, Caprice Holdings, which includes some of London’s most celebrated eateries in the Ivy, Le Caprice, Scott’s and J Sheekey, saw sales rise three per cent to £53.3m in 2013. Its sister company Mark Birley Holdings, which owns Harry’s Bar, [...]
Vivienne Westwood hit by drop in profits despite jump in sales June 28, 2015 Vivienne Westwood, the eponymous label of the fashion designer who helped set the style of the 1970s punk era, said tough conditions across the retail industry weighed on profits last year. The independent fashion house said 2014 was a “challenging year” and that margins remained under pressure due to “the nature of wider retail conditions”. [...]
Sky requests competition inquiry into BT’s broadband dominance June 28, 2015 Sky has submitted a formal request to telecoms regulator Ofcom for a competition inquiry into BT. Read more: BT dismisses Sky claims with Champions League launch and big name signings The broadcasting company accuses its rival of making a series of errors in its Openreach division, which operates the national broadband network. It [...]
Tesco AGM: Lewis grilled over pay, performance and strategy but all resolutions passed June 26, 2015 Tesco bosses faced a grilling by shareholders today, fending off complaints about customer service, overall strategy and – of course – pay. But by the end of the AGM it was clear the supermarket's shareholders weren't revolting – at least not as much as some thought they might be. All of Tesco's resolutions, at least [...]