CityFibre gets revenue boost but losses grow March 23, 2015 CityFibre saw its revenues rocket last year but failed to stem rising losses on its bottom line, the firm revealed this morning. The fibre optic specialist is the largest independent provider of fibre infrastructure in the UK, with a focus on Britain’s mid-sized cities, including York, Coventry and Doncaster. The firm’s specialisation in pure [...]
Quindell March 22, 2015 The numbers Quindell has reported Here's why it's interesting Quindell recently issued close to 850,000 shares as it moved to takeover Navseeker, after a legal dispute with the company. In early March, the troubled insurance outsourcer settled a US litigation in which it was claimed that Quindell and others had “misappropriated the entire value of [...]
FTSE 100 hits 7,000: The historical graph which charts the highs and lows of Britain’s blue-chip index March 20, 2015 It's finally done it: having peaked in 1999, and then again last month, the FTSE 100 has finally achieved the unachievable, breaching the hallowed 7,000 mark, proving a "psychological barrier" really is just a figment of the imagination. Since its 1999 peak, the index has yo-yoed, weathering 9/11 before bouncing back, then plummeting again as [...]
FTSE 100 closes above 7,000 as Europe agrees Greece deal March 20, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed about 7,000 points this evening, ending the day at 7,022 after breaching the "psychological" barrier for the first time this afternoon as Europe agreed a further bailout deal for Greece. It's the first time the index has ever risen as high as 7,000 – in 1999 it rose to 6,750, before [...]
Tesco takes over 21 superstores in £733m deal with British Land March 20, 2015 Tesco has sealed a £733m deal with British Land, in which the supermarket is taking back 21 of its superstores. The company says this will help it “strengthen its core UK business”. In exchange, British Land will take over Tesco's stake in three shopping centres, three retail parks and three standalone stores. These are currently [...]
TSB share price opens higher as Lloyds accepts £1.7bn takeover offer from Banco de Sabadell March 20, 2015 Shares in TSB opened 1.6 per cent higher at 332.47p this morning after its majority owner, Lloyds, have accepted a £1.7bn takeover offer from Spanish rival Banco de Sabadell. Shares in the challenger bank leapt 27 per cent last week, after TSB issued an announcement suggesting it was "willing to recommend" Sabadell's 340p-per-share offer – [...]
Alliance Trust tells Elliott Advisors directors: You’re male, pale & stale March 19, 2015 Alliance Trust is preparing a campaign against the three industry veterans its biggest shareholder is trying to get voted on to the board, City A.M. understands – arguing that the experienced bosses do not match the firm’s modern, creative model. Activist investor Elliott Advisors is engaged in a fierce battle of wills with the FTSE 100 [...]
Ex-Moore Europe Capital employee Julian Rifat sentenced to 19 months for insider trading March 19, 2015 Former Moore Europe Capital employee Julian Rifat was sentenced to 19 months imprisonment at Southwark Crown Court yesterday for insider trading. Rifat has also been fined £100,000 for the same offences and ordered to pay costs of £159,402. He was the third individual to be sentenced for insider dealing offences since the launch of Operation [...]
John Lewis is named the retailer with the strongest reputation March 19, 2015 Middle-class shoppers’ favourite John Lewis was yesterday declared the retailer with the best reputation in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), a survey found. The survey, by the Reputation Institute, also showed that among the firms whose reputation had improved the most between 2013 and 2014 were WH Smith and H&M. However, there was bad [...]
BT hits back at Ofcom over new broadband rule March 19, 2015 Telecoms giant BT slammed its industry regulator for taking a “lopsided” approach to the UK market. Industry watchdog Ofcom yesterday confirmed it was going ahead with a new pricing rule, coming into effect on 1 April. The rule means BT must maintain a sufficient margin between its wholesale and retail superfast broadband fees, in order [...]