Bernard Matthews in hunt for £10m rescue May 17, 2015 Struggling poultry supplier Bernard Matthews is seeking £10m in order to stay afloat just 16 months after being rescued by a private equity firm. The company has been trying to stem losses ever since 2007 when its stock of birds was struck by avian flu. Bernard Matthews was thrown a life-line by private equity investors [...]
Corfu deaths: Thomas Cook “received £3.5m payout” for loss of profits May 17, 2015 Thomas Cook confirmed it received compensation from the Greek hotel where two children were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The travel company has not revealed the amount it was paid out but according to The Mail on Sunday it received around £3.5m to cover refunds, loss of profits and other expenses following the deaths of [...]
New Look confirms £780m sale to South African magnate Christo Wiese’s Brait May 15, 2015 Britain’s second-largest women’s clothing retailer confirmed today that it has a new owner. Private equity firm Brait, owned by South African billionaire Christol Wiese, has bought a 90 per cent stake in the fashion chain in a £780m deal. The figure is significantly less than the £1.9bn mooted in reports. The deal marks the first [...]
Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey says HSBC right to eye move abroad May 15, 2015 A Bank of England official has said that HSBC, the country's biggest bank, is right to eye a move abroad. "We will obviously be in close contact with them because there are important issues for us," Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Bank of England's prudential regulation authority, said. "It is entirely natural that as [...]
BT share price edges down as Ofcom outlines measures to open fibre networks May 15, 2015 Shares in BT opened almost one per cent lower at 461.65p this morning, after it was revealed regulator Ofcom could force it to open some of its fibre-optic lines to rivals. However, these falls were later clawed back, with shares trading at 463.9p, 0.24 per cent down, an hour later. The regulator said the measures [...]
Pimco equities chief to leave the firm in June May 14, 2015 Pimco said yesterday its London-based global equities chief investment officer, Virginie Maisonneuve, would be leaving the firm next month after less than 18 months. The US firm also said two of its equity strategies woudl go, representing three per cent of its assets.
TalkTalk chief Dido Harding pushes to split BT and Openreach as profit rises May 14, 2015 TalkTalk boss Dido Harding renewed her calls for the regulator to force BT to sell its telecoms network division Openreach yesterday, and said more competition in the market would lead to further investment. Harding made the comments while discussing TalkTalk’s results for the year to 31 March, which showed a 3.2 per cent rise [...]
Center Parcs hires SSP chairman Vagn Sorensen just as new bidders Starwood and CVC Capital weigh in May 14, 2015 Center Parcs revealed yesterday it has hired a new chairman at the same time it emerged that Starwood Capital has teamed up with CVC Capital to consider a joint £2.5bn bid for the group. Private equity owner Blackstone launched a dual track process earlier this year to either sell or launch an initial public offering [...]
Aldermore ramps up the lending after IPO as challenger bank set to meet investor expectations May 14, 2015 Challenger bank Aldermore reported a sustained surge in lending in the first quarter of the year, continuing to rack up the growth after going public in March. Net lending increased seven per cent in the three-month period to hit £5.1bn, with organic loan origination coming in at £568m, up nine per cent on same period of [...]
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 [...]