Investors cheer Blur’s booming revenue despite widening losses September 9, 2014 Online services group Blur saw its revenues soar 303 per cent during the first half of the year to £5.69m, on the back of the growing number and value of projects it handles. Shares in the group were up 6.79 per cent at 86.50p following the results. Meanwhile, underlying losses at the group grew by [...]
BrightHouse IPO plans hit turbulence over MP inquiry September 9, 2014 The listing of shares in rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse was left in limbo yesterday after a fresh parliamentary inquiry into the group cast doubt on the firm’s ability to attract investors. A group of MPs, under the auspices of the All-Parliamentary Group on Debt and Personal Finance, will investigate rent-to-own outlets like BrightHouse, sparking concerns the [...]
Battle of the City brokers as BGC makes hostile bid for rival GFI Group September 9, 2014 Interdealer broker BGC Partners yesterday gatecrashed the proposed takeover of rival GFI Group by swooping in with a hostile bid for the broking group. The interdealer broker, which was spun out of Cantor Fitzgerald in 2004, unveiled a $675m (£420m) offer which would create the world’s second largest interdealer broker behind leader The interdealer broker, [...]
ISG sees pre-tax profits jump to £6.8m on London office surge September 9, 2014 Construction services company ISG yesterday said a surge in activity in the London office market had helped the company bag new fit-out projects and boosted its order book. The recovery has led to a rise in companies moving to new offices in the capital. ISG secured £410m of new projects in the year to 30 [...]
House market recovery lifts Dixons’ sales September 9, 2014 DIXONS CARPHONE, the newly formed high street giant, said yesterday it had made a strong start to the year, with sales basking in the aftermath of the World Cup and benefitting from rising consumer confidence. Chief executive Sebastian James said that the recovery in the housing market helped to boost demand and that while consumer [...]
US discounters get antitrust request for info September 9, 2014 TWO TOP US discounters yesterday reported that they had received a second request for information from American antitrust regulators about Dollar Tree’s $8.5bn (£5.25bn) bid to acquire Family Dollar. The move by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which Dollar Tree said last week was coming, means the deal’s government-mandated waiting period would be extended until 30 [...]
Analysts to the fore in big sectorial shakeups September 9, 2014 ANALYST of the year The role of the analyst has become increasingly important at such an uncertain time in the economy, when everyone is looking for guidance. With the UK retail sector in turmoil over the decline of Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose and especially Tesco – caused mainly by the rise of the German discounters – their views [...]
Even the Scots’ flag wants out! September 9, 2014 IT was like a scene from vintage political satire The Thick of It. Actually, it may even have been too far-fetched for the BBC’s writers. Picture the scene: Liberal Democrat big-hitter, proud Scot and former head of press at the Cairngorms National Park Danny Alexander stands atop the roof of Number 10, his ginger hair [...]
BMW celebrates the three million Mini mark September 9, 2014 IT WAS a big day for Mini yesterday as German owner BMW celebrated three million of the iconic modern cars having rolled off the production lines since it bought the brand back in 2001. The three millionth Mini itself, a five-door Hatch Cooper S, had a special union jack paint job for the occasion
Hotel demand helps Whitbread sleep easy September 9, 2014 WHITBREAD said yesterday that sales sprinted ahead in the second quarter of the year as major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games helped to boost trade at Premier Inn. The FTSE 100 leisure conglomerate, which also owns Costa Coffee, posted a 12.8 per cent rise in sales in the 11 weeks to 14 August, [...]