Elliott Advisors: The activist US hedge fund shaking up Britain April 27, 2015 Elliott Advisors is the UK subsidiary of a much larger American group, which began life in 1977 when it was established by Paul Elliott Singer. Its British arm has a reputation for activism which is not always welcomed by companies’ executives, as the hedge fund analyses performance and pushes for changes to squeeze better returns. [...]
BHS hires 250 new staff in food retail push amid withheld credit insurance rumours April 27, 2015 BHS announced its intention to take on 250 staff yesterday, and denied rumours its suppliers were seeing their credit insurance withheld. The struggling department store is hiring the extra staff as it seeks to expand into food retail following a successful trial in its Romford, Staines and Warrington stores. BHS has signed a contract with [...]
Citigroup floods market in Yorkshire Water shares as it prepares to sell £2bn stake April 27, 2015 Yorkshire Water is set to become the focus of an investor scramble for shares after Citigroup announced its intention to sell its £2bn stake in the utilities company yesterday. In what would be one of the largest utilities deals in years, Citi is seeking to offload its 30 per cent holding in the company which [...]
K&C REIT IPO: London house fund set to list April 27, 2015 A group of City veterans is looking to raise £6m on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) to kick start a fund which will invest in the central London property market. The K&C REIT (real estate investment trust) issues its intention to float document today, notifying investors of its plans. It hopes to raise £6m at [...]
Adobe considering £200m bid for UK special effects firm The Foundry April 26, 2015 US tech giant Adobe is set to make a £200m bid for UK special effects firm The Foundry, it emerged yesterday. The British firm, which boasts 20,000 clients including Pixar, Sony and Warner Bros, was put up for sale last year by private equity firm Carlyle. Its cutting edge effects programme, Nuke, has been used [...]
CafePod seeks new funding as it takes on $15bn global market April 26, 2015 London based start-up CafePod is seeking to raise £1.5m to take its coffee brand global, the company has announced. The UK company, which manufactures coffee capsules, was set up by two former City workers, Peter Grainger and Brent Hadfield in 2012 and has since seen its value rocket by 700 per cent. CafePod managed to [...]
Low oil prices lead to highest number of first-quarter profit warnings since 2009 April 26, 2015 The low price of oil has caused the number of profit warnings issued by UK-listed companies to go up, according to a report by Ernst & Young (EY). Since June last year, the price of the commodity has dropped by over 40 per cent and currently stands at $65 per barrel. It's an improvement from [...]
HSBC share price closes higher as it launches review into leaving UK April 24, 2015 Shares in HSBC closed more than three per cent up at 631.4p after the bank revealed it is investigating the possibility of leaving the UK. Chairman Douglas Flint said this morning that, spooked by a tighter regulatory environment, HSBC's board has launched a review into moving its headquarters out of the UK. More on this [...]
HSBC leaving the UK? Five charts showing why it might actually mean it this time April 24, 2015 HSBC chairman Douglas Flint raised eyebrows on markets today when he announced the bank's board had begun a review into whether it should continue to be headquartered in the UK. The news sent shares up more than three per cent as investors showed their appreciation for the (possible) move. More on this story: HSBC launches review [...]
Reckitt Benckiser beats expectations thanks to bumper sales of healthcare brands April 24, 2015 The figures Consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser (RB) has reported a five per cent rise in like-for-like sales, which hit £2.2bn during the first quarter. Health and hygiene enjoyed strong growth, with net revenue rising by 32 per cent and 42 per cent respectively in those categories. Why it's interesting A bad flu season (bad [...]