Reed Elsevier sells tech group back to founder October 7, 2013 BRITAIN’S fastest growing technology company MVF yesterday announced that it has bought back Approved Index, the business that its founder sold to Reed Elsevier in 2008. Titus Sharpe sold Approved Index to the FTSE 100 firm five years ago, before using the proceeds of the sale to found MVF, which uses technology to win customers [...]
Smartphones to influence £18bn of high street sales made in 2013 October 7, 2013 SMARTPHONES will influence more than £18bn of high street shopping sales this year, a jump of 45 per cent from 2012, according to a research out yesterday. The survey by Deloitte found that consumers who use their smartphones before or during their shopping trip are not only more likely to make a purchase, but also [...]
Nokia begins to map its future with Mitsubishi October 7, 2013 NOKIA yesterday announced a deal to provide Mitsubishi Motors with mapping data from its HERE business. The deal gives Nokia’s mapping service another customer, having secured partnerships with Amazon, Bing, Yahoo and Flickr for location data. “We were the first company to support the launch of in-car navigation in Mitsubishi’s vehicles back in the late [...]
International markets open up for STV in deal with Red Arrow October 7, 2013 SCOTTISH broadcaster STV has signed a new partnership with Red Arrow Entertainment, meaning the German firm will become STV’s worldwide distributor for programmes and formats outside of the UK from January 2014. STV, whose programmes include Antiques Road Trip, said the deal would allow the companies to “work closely together to develop brand new formats [...]
Apple cleared of all wrongdoing after four-month US tax probe October 7, 2013 APPLE has been cleared of any wrongdoing after the iPhone maker came under scrutiny by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for corporate tax avoidance. The computing giant was examined by a senate committee, which accused Apple of using a tax avoidance strategy to pay little or no corporate tax on its $74bn profits [...]
Intu bets on Spanish recovery as it splashes out on shopping mall October 7, 2013 SHOPPING centre owner Intu Properties said yesterday it had teamed up with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to buy a shopping centre in northern Spain, marking the beginning of a partnership with the North American dealmaker. The two paid €162m (£136.7m) for the 75,000 square metre-large Parque Principado Shopping Centre in Asturias, implying a net [...]
Go Outdoors secures £33m loan October 7, 2013 Outdoor retailer Go Outdoors has secured a £33m refinancing deal with Barclays to accelerate its growth plans. The group, which reported a 19 per cent jump in sales last year to £171m, said the investment will be used to open more stores, grow its online operations and revamp existing stores. It has signed a three-year [...]
Fusionex confident in its results October 7, 2013 Software firm Fusionex said it expects revenue and profits for the year to September will be in line with forecasts when it announces them on 31 January. “Management remains confident that the group’s strong market traction within the Asia Pacific region and on-going investment in sales will generate exciting growth in the medium and long [...]
Kofax earnings down during 2013 October 7, 2013 Business software maker Kofax reported its profits slumped 33 per cent to $18m (£11.3m) in the year ending 30 June, as the London-listed company gears up for a US offering on the Nasdaq, which it first announced on Friday. The Californian firm, which specialises in software for the so-called first mile of consumer interactions, saw [...]
Monte Dei Paschi approves restructure plan October 7, 2013 HISTORIC Italian bank Monte Dei Paschi’s board yesterday voted through a restructuring plan as part of the bailout given earlier this year. The lender is cutting 8,000 staff and is planning to raise more than €2.5bn (£2.1bn) in capital. It was given €4.1bn by the authorities earlier this year after huge losses on derivatives contracts [...]