The Scottish Widow has returned January 22, 2014 THE WORLD’S most recognisable cape is back. No, not Batman, the Scottish Widow, obviously. Following a four-year hiatus, the insurance giant’s famous lady in black is back with a fresh new face and an ad campaign due to hit our small screens in February, as part of a drive by Lloyds to revamp the brand. [...]
JD Wetherspoon reveals rise in Christmas sales January 22, 2014 JD WETHERSPOON reported strong results over the Christmas and New Year period yesterday, the latest in a series of UK pubs to benefit from the holiday season. Like-for-like sales for the twelve weeks of the second quarter were up by 6.7 per cent and total sales by 10.6 per cent, while year to date like-for-like [...]
Eurotunnel posts record revenue thanks to rising passenger traffic January 22, 2014 EUROTUNNEL’S revenues topped €1bn (£890m) last year, the Channel Tunnel operator revealed yesterday. Overall turnover surged 12 per cent to a record €1.09bn, as passenger shuttles, the Eurostar high-speed trains and rail freight traffic all rose. The Eurostar carried 10m passengers in a year for the first time in its history in 2013. Almost 325m [...]
Capital Spreads owner upbeat as nears settlement on claims January 22, 2014 LONDON Capital Group, the owner of Capital Spreads, yesterday said long-running claims over fund rebate errors would be solved by the end of March, as it reported a return to profit last year. The junior stock market listed group said pre-tax profits for the year ending 2013 were expected to be £2.4m, reversing a £200,000 [...]
Quercus puts itself up for sale as losses mount January 22, 2014 QUERCUS, the independent publisher behind Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, yesterday unexpectedly announced that it is up for sale. In a surprise stock market announcement, the Baker Street-based firm said that it had appointed mergers and acquisitions specialists Livingstone Partners to advise on the sale process. The firm said it believed it was “in the [...]
BHP vows higher shareholder returns as production soars January 22, 2014 BHP BILLITON’S iron ore expansion plan went full throttle in the second half of the year, with the miner posting record production from its West Australian mines and a 19 per cent rise in output. The FTSE 100-quoted miner’s West Australian operation benefited from the early delivery of first production from the Jimblebar mine, which [...]
Amplats back in profit but fresh strikes loom January 22, 2014 ANGLO American Platinum swung back into profit in 2013 as it rebounded from a wave of wildcat strikes but its recovery is threatened by looming strikes across South Africa’s platinum belt. Maintaining profit margins will be tough if the hardline Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) goes ahead with its planned industrial action today [...]
Hurricane plans February float January 22, 2014 North Sea-focused oil firm Hurricane Energy yesterday announced plans to float on London’s junior AIM market in February, in an initial public offering (IPO) which will value the company at around £272m. The firm said it would raise around £18m from investors upon listing plus another £31.4m through the conversion of loan notes and a [...]
Facebook eyes ad network January 22, 2014 Facebook is displaying ads from a small group of marketers on other companies’ smartphone apps, the latest sign that the world’s biggest online social network is closer to launching an ad network business. Facebook said yesterday that the test is currently limited to a “few” advertisers and mobile app publishers. “Our aim is to demonstrate [...]
DLR strike set for next week January 22, 2014 The RMT union said staff on the Docklands Light Railway will walk out next Wednesday for 48 hours and again on Tuesday 4 February following the “total breakdown in industrial relations”. The walkouts come as the RMT prepares to conduct a series of “revenue strikes” on the Underground next month, where staff will be instructed to [...]