US private equity firm splashes out £260m on Alexander Mann October 31, 2013 A RECRUITMENT company founded less than two decades ago by Irish entrepreneur Rosaleen Blair has been sold to US private equity firm New Mountain for £260m. New Mountain has bought Alexander Mann Solutions from Graphite Capital, a UK private equity firm which backed a £100m management buyout in 2007. Based in London, Alexander Mann is [...]
Puma spotted on the South Bank October 31, 2013 GERMAN sportswear maker Puma has signed a 10-year pre-let deal to move its UK offices from Surrey into Sea Containers House on the South Bank next year. The building, built in the 1970s, is being rejuvenated by owner Deerbrook.
Retail investors help assets rise at Henderson October 31, 2013 ANGLO-AUSTRALIAN fund manager Henderson Group attracted £1.2bn of net new money in the three months to the end of September, helped by improving investor confidence. In a trading statement yesterday, Henderson said the inflows, as well as positive investment performance, helped lift assets under management by 4.3 per cent to £70.8bn. The net inflows were [...]
Air France-KLM has written off its stake in struggling Alitalia October 31, 2013 FOG CLOUDING the future of Alitalia deepened yesterday when Air France-KLM wrote off the value of its stake and told Italy it would ignore an emergency cash call for the battered airline unless “very strict conditions” were met. Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive of the Franco-Dutch group, said he had been “offended and discouraged” by [...]
Asian money movements hit Lufthansa profit October 31, 2013 GERMAN airline Lufthansa yesterday warned that weakness in Asian currencies would weigh on revenue growth at its passenger airline business this year and that a grindingly slow market recovery was set to dent profit at its cargo unit. Germany’s flag carrier said the weak Japanese yen and Indian rupee in particular weighed on third-quarter revenues [...]
Network Rail to trim spending by a fifth October 31, 2013 NETWORK Rail has been told to cut 20 per cent from its day-to-day spending over the next five years while working to cut delays on Britain’s railways. The Office of Rail Regulation yesterday signed off NR’s budget for the next five years, which totals almost £38bn. As part of this the ORR has approved £12bn [...]
National Express sales lifted by UK holidays October 31, 2013 TRANSPORT group National Express said yesterday that trading improved in the third quarter thanks to a busy August bank holiday period, and it is on target to meet its full-year expectations after a tough first half. The bus and train operator said group revenue rose five per cent in the quarter, with its UK coach [...]
Hovis owner blames heat for slowdown October 31, 2013 SHARES in Premier Food plunged 16 per cent yesterday after the owner of Hovis bread and Mr Kipling cakes blamed the summer heatwave for the sharp slowdown in growth. Underlying sales fell by 3.2 per cent to £283m in the three months to 30 September compared with a 0.9 per cent fall in the first [...]
Weak currencies slam chemicals maker Croda October 31, 2013 SPECIALITY chemicals maker Croda reported a marginal rise in underlying sales in the third quarter, hurt by subdued markets and weak currencies. The company, which makes chemicals used in personal care, crop care and home care products, said underlying sales rose 0.8 per cent in the period since 1 July. Croda said fourth-quarter profit was [...]
Glencore posts 23pc increase in copper output October 31, 2013 GLENCORE Xstrata said yesterday that third-quarter copper production had soared by 23 per cent and that profits for its trading arm are broadly in line with expectations. The mining and trading group, which completed a long-awaited merger earlier this year, said that there had been strong growth at the Collahuasi mine, which rose 43 per [...]