Thorntons warns of reduced orders from supermarket buyer April 29, 2015 THORNTONS said sales were almost flat in the third quarter after a reduction in orders by one of its main supermarket buyers continued to hurt the chocolatier. The retailer, which issued a profit warning in December after unexpected cut in orders from two grocery chains and problems at its new warehouse, said sales across its [...]
Bailout secured as masked men menace Yanis April 29, 2015 GREEK finance minister Yanis Varoufakis finally managed to secure a bailout this week – courtesy of his wife, Danae. The couple were dining in the Exarchia district – a neighbourhood popular with extreme leftists and anarchists – when a masked group stormed into the restaurant. As the group approached him in a threatening manner, his [...]
O’Leary’s charm offensive fails to impress Chinese hackers April 29, 2015 RYANAIR chairman Michael O’Leary’s charm offensive designed to win over customers hasn’t seemed to reach China. The no frills airline boss, who recently spoke out about the need to improve customer service to prevent “unnecessarily pissing people off,” confirmed yesterday that hackers stole almost £3.25m from its accounts, using an electronic transfer via a Chinese [...]
Standard Life stands tall amid pension reform April 29, 2015 STANDARD Life’s assets under administration rose by five per cent to £311.9bn in the first quarter, as the savings and assets manager flexed its muscle in the face of new UK laws allowing savers to cash in their pension annuities. Third party net inflows of £3.7bn – 73 per cent of which came from outside [...]
UK house prices climb to new heights in April due to “surplus in demand which is outpacing supply” April 29, 2015 House prices climbed higher in April, new figures from a major mortgage lender reveal. Annual house price growth edged up to 5.2 per cent in April from March’s 5.1 per cent. The average UK house price is now a £193,048 – the highest on record. Housing analysts blame a lack of supply for [...]
Quintain and Keystone team up to build 362 Wembley homes April 29, 2015 QUINTAIN said yesterday that it has joined forces with Swiss private equity group Keystone to build a further 362 homes at Wembley Park, including 120 for the private rental market. The 260,000 square feet residential development in north west London is Quintain’s second joint venture with Keystone after working on a 475-home development together last [...]
Conservative areas top house price growth April 29, 2015 HOMEOWNERS living in Conservative constituencies have been the biggest beneficiaries of the UK’s house price boom. Figures released today by online estate agents housesimple.com show that house prices in Tory strongholds have gained 17.1 per cent in the last five years. The rate of price growth is almost three times that of constituencies with the [...]
City Moves for 30 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 29, 2015 ADS Securities London The brokerage has appointed Marco Baggioli as chief operating officer. He was previously global head of FX prime brokerage at BNP Paribas. Baggioli has over 23 years’ experience in the sector, and has also held roles at Deutsche Bank, Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, and MonteTitoli. Michelmores The law firm has appointed Patrick [...]
Best of the Brokers for 30 April 2015 April 29, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com AUTO TRADER Numis initiated coverage of the automotive marketplace with a “buy” rating. The broker said the company’s packages offer “demonstrable return on investment for retailers and we expect further upselling and cross-selling to drive profitability both for Auto Trader and retailers”. AVON [...]
Investor caution leads FTSE to a three-week low – London Report April 29, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index slipped to a three-week low yesterday as a slowing US economy and caution before the end of a Federal Reserve policy meeting led some investors to take profits from recent highs. The US reported its economy grew in the first quarter at just a 0.2 per cent annual rate, well below [...]