Alliance Trust unit pays £14m for Brewin Dolphin platform May 14, 2015 Alliance Trust’s savings division yesterday bought smaller stockbroking platform rival Stocktrade from Brewin Dolphin for £14m. Alliance Trust Savings (ATS), which has £7.2bn in assets, will add Stocktrade’s 48,000 customers, boosting its customer base to 105,000. Assets will also rise to £11.5bn after the deal completes. The group said the acquisition would allow it to [...]
3i starts to enjoy fruits of Simon Borrows’ turnaround plan May 14, 2015 The UK’S oldest private equity group 3i topped the FTSE 100 yesterday after revealing another set of thumping results, bringing the curtain down on a dramatic turnaround which has transformed the once-underperforming company. Investors applauded the end of the three-year initiative to streamline the firm by chief executive Simon Borrows by sending shares 15.5p [...]
Sirius Minerals confident on York Potash project after planning update May 14, 2015 Analysts said yesterday they were confident in a positive outcome for Sirius Minerals as it progresses with its York Potash project. Shares in the Aim-listed firm went up by 10.71 per cent after the company updated investors on the approvals process for the project. Planning officers at the North York Moors National Park Authority have [...]
Matalan chief Jason Hargreaves makes retailer a family affair May 14, 2015 Jason Hargreaves made a trip to Oxford Street earlier this year with his four-year-old daughter in tow. The managing director of Matalan, the out-of-town value fashion and homeware chain founded by his father, John Hargreaves, 30 years ago, came to view its first ever central London store at the east end of on Oxford [...]
Avon shares just went berserk after PTG Capital claims it made $8.2bn offer May 14, 2015 PTG Capital Partners, a private equity firm, claims it made an $8.2bn (£5.2bn) offer for cosmetics company Avon. Famous for its "Avon lady" representatives, PTG said the offer was worth $18.75 per share – more than three times the value of the company on yesterday's closing price of $6.67 per share. Shares in the US firm [...]
BP has bagged ex-MI6 chief Sir John Sawers as a non-exec director May 14, 2015 Oil giant BP has bagged ex-MI6 chief Sir John Sawers, who will sit on its board as a non-executive director with immediate effect. Sawers completed his five-year tenure as the top boss of the UK secret intelligence service in November 2014, and was the first MI6 chief to be appointed from outside of the service since 1968. [...]
British Land profits lifted by lucrative London property market May 14, 2015 The figures: British Land said that underlying profit before tax rose 5.4 per cent to £313m for this financial year, up from £297m a year earlier. Diluted underlying earnings per share rose 4.1 per cent to 30.6p, an increase from 29.4p in 2014. The developer's total portfolio valuation rose by 12.1 per cent to £13.63bn. This was [...]
Salvatore Ferragamo profit lifted by currencies May 13, 2015 Italian luxury group Salvatore Ferragamo yesterday reported a 16 per cent rise in its first-quarter core profit as currency effects boosted sales in Asia and North America. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation totalled €61m (£44m) in the first quarter, marginally ahead of analysts’ consensus of €58m. Sales rose 10 per cent to €327m. [...]
Bob Diamond re-elected as Atlas Mara director after facing a minor investor revolt May 13, 2015 Ex-Barclays chief Bob Diamond was re-elected as a director at his latest venture Atlas Mara – but only after a modest shareholder rebellion among voters. The chief executive was backed by 91.2 per cent of shareholders, giving him the support a solid majority. But that figure compares with more than 99 per cent for all [...]
Morgan Stanley fined $2m for incorrectly reporting short-selling positions May 13, 2015 US investment bank Morgan Stanley was yesterday fined $2m for incorrectly reporting its short-selling positions over a period of more than six years. Regulator Finra requires banks to report their short positions, to provide investors with transparency over activity in the marketplace. But Morgan Stanley failed to do this, and failed to implement a system designed [...]