Treasury Wine shares hit 4-year high after Diageo deal October 19, 2015 Investors are toasting Treasury Wine's good health. The Australian winemaker’s stocks are soaring after completing a deal with drinks giant Diageo, made official last week. UK brands Blossom Hill and Piat d'Or are moving Down Under after FTSE 100-listed Diageo agreed to sell most of its major wine assets to Treasury Wine Estates for $552m (£357m). [...]
Deutsche Bank share price rises on “fundamental reorganisation” October 19, 2015 Deutsche Bank AG's share price rose in early morning trading, helping push European stocks higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.7 per cent , while the Dax was up 0.84 per cent and FTSE 100 was trading relatively flat at 0.2 per cent up. The bank's stock was up 2.8 per cent, pushed higher after it [...]
Tech firm Softcat to IPO on the London Stock Exchange October 19, 2015 A leading UK IT infrastructure and services provider, Softcat, has announced its intention to float on the London Stock Exchange next month. After its admission, the Buckinghamshire-based company expects to be eligible for inclusion in the FTSE at the quarterly review in March. The offer will consist of a sale of shares currently held by founders of Softcat. Senior members [...]
ITV, UTV, he/she/it TVs: ITV to buy Northern Irish channels for £100m October 19, 2015 British broadcaster ITV has snapped up the TV business of the leading commercial broadcaster in Northern Ireland, UTV, for £100m. The deal means that STV in Scotland is the only remaining independent ITV regional broadcaster. It will put 13 of 15 channel 3 licences in the hands of ITV, and the company said the combined business would benefit [...]
“Abandoned” patents jump as businesses slash intellectual property costs October 19, 2015 “Abandoned” patents have jumped, as businesses are cutting costs on intellectual property. Nearly 124,000 patents in the US and Europe were allowed to expire last year, up nearly a third compared to the same figure in 2004, according to research from IAM and Ocean Tomo. As abandoned patents rise, the number of new patent applications [...]
UK grocery sector shows green shoots of recovery as distress levels fall October 19, 2015 Britain’s supermarket sector is showing signs of recovery, according to new research from Begbies Traynor that reveals the number of companies struggling to stay afloat declined for the first time in over two years. The business recovery specialist’s latest Red Flag Alert research, which monitors the health of UK companies, shows levels of “significant” financial [...]
UK footfall recovers in September but high streets lose out to retail parks October 19, 2015 Retailers enjoyed more visitors through their doors in September, boosted by the onset of the colder autumn weather and the August bank holiday falling into last month’s survey period. Footfall was almost flat on September last year, down by just 0.2 per cent, figures released today by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and retail analysts Springboard [...]
Investor feel-good factor made a return in October – Lloyds Bank October 19, 2015 Investor confidence picked up in October, according to research from Lloyds Bank. There was an improvement in eight out of 10 asset classes, although safe havens gold and UK government bonds saw a surprise dip in sentiment despite having the strongest performances. Overall investor net sentiment rose by four percentage points, taking it to an average [...]
UK dividends reached record heights in the third quarter – Capita Asset Services October 19, 2015 UK dividends reached record heights in the third quarter, hitting £27.2bn, but this is unlikely to prevent an annual slump in payouts. Figures from Capita Asset Services' dividend monitor forecasts that payments for 2015 will come in at £87.2bn, down 10.5 per cent from £97.4bn in last year. A series of special dividends form the [...]
Nectar profits collapse as supermarket price war takes its toll on loyalty cards October 18, 2015 Profits have tumbled at Britain’s biggest loyalty card provider, Nectar. Aimia Coalition Loyalty UK, Nectar’s parent company, said that pre-tax profits fell to £14.1m for 2014, from £74.4m the year before, due to a rise in people cashing in their points, while collecting fewer. The company warned that if people continued to redeem points then [...]