Deloitte asks for leave to appeal its £14m fine for MG Rover work October 2, 2013 DELOITTE has launched an appeal against its £14m fine for failing to properly handle conflicts of interest when working with MG Rover. “We recognise the general desire to move on from this case but do not agree with the main conclusions of the tribunal which we feel could create significant uncertainty for individual members and [...]
Retail survival rates dwindling after high street administrations October 2, 2013 JUST over 2,000 out of 2,850 shops have been shut this year after 15 major retailers collapsed into administration, new figures out yesterday by FRP Advisory show. Research by the restructuring firm shows that a shop’s survival rate has worsened in the first nine months of the year to 29 per cent compared with a [...]
Marc Jacobs bows out of Louis Vuitton October 2, 2013 MARC Jacobs, the star designer who turned Louis Vuitton from a staid luggage-maker into one of the world’s biggest luxury brands, is leaving to focus on his own label. Jacobs’ departure after 16 years comes as Louis Vuitton, which built its name and profitability on LV-embossed bags, has been suffering from cooling demand in Asia [...]
A2Dominion launches retail bond October 2, 2013 Social housing group A2Dominion became the latest company in the sector yesterday to tap the public market for cash after launching a retail bond. The company hopes to raise around £140m from the unsecured sterling bond, which has a coupon of 4.75 per cent and is due in 2022. One of the UK’s largest housing [...]
Quintain sells regional portfolio October 2, 2013 Quintain Estate, the property developer behind two vast regeneration schemes in Greenwich and Wembley, said yesterday it has sold its regional investment property for £39m as it looks to strengthen its focus on the London market. Palace Capital, an AIM-listed firm, has conditionally exchanged contracts to buy SeQuel, along with an additional property, Gelderd Point [...]
Taylor Wimpey merges pensions October 2, 2013 Taylor Wimpey yesterday announced it has successfully merged two legacy pension schemes to create the Taylor Wimpey Pension Scheme, helping to save £800,000 in costs per year. The housebuilder said it merged the George Wimpey Staff Pension Scheme and the Taylor Woodrow Group Pension & Life Assurance Fund to create the single new scheme with [...]
Research shows no Asian crisis repeat on cards October 2, 2013 TWO NEW reports released yesterday suggest that despite a squeeze on emerging markets over the summer, talk of a crisis in developing economies is overblown. The Asian Development Bank’s most recent outlook report, released yesterday, cut its growth forecast for Asian countries in 2013 to six per cent, down from 6.6 per cent in April’s [...]
Hochschild Mining plans to buy remaining Peru assets for £172m October 2, 2013 FTSE 250-listed Hochschild Mining said yesterday it plans to raise up to $96m (£59m) through an equity placing to help it buy the remaining 40 per cent stakes in its Peruvian assets for $280m. The Latin America-focused precious metals miner said it has agreed to buy the 40 per cent stakes held by International Mineral [...]
Russian government sells 14pc stake in diamond miner Alrosa October 2, 2013 THE RUSSIAN government plans to sell off a 14 per cent stake in Alrosa, the state-owned diamond miner said yesterday. A Moscow public offering for the world’s largest diamond miner based on volume has been in the pipeline for over a decade, as the Russian government looks to bolster its coffers. Russian federal and regional [...]
Soco well test beats expectations October 2, 2013 FTSE 250-listed oil and gas explorer Soco yesterday said that testing of a well in Vietnam had exceeded expectations, with production reaching over 27,600 barrels of oil per day. “This has turned out to be a great well, representing one of the most prolific individual wells ever tested in Vietnam,” said president and chief executive [...]