Sales blooming at Cath Kidston August 12, 2013 CATH KIDSTON, the quirky British retailer known for its brightly coloured floral prints, said yesterday sales topped £100m for the first time last year thanks to strong demand in the UK and overseas. The homewares and accessories chain, founded by the eponymous designer 20 years ago, said it now has more stores overseas than in [...]
Average flat price in England and Wales soars over £250,000 August 12, 2013 THE AVERAGE price of a flat in England and Wales has risen over the quarter of a million pound mark, according to new figures from the Land Registry, with the most expensive flat sold last quarter fetching £13.25m. A flat will now set buyers back an average of £250,101 across England and Wales – just edging [...]
Ex-Diageo boss prospers from share price surge with £14.8m August 12, 2013 FORMER Diageo boss Paul Walsh was paid £14.8m last year thanks to the company’s soaring share price over the last three years. Walsh, who stepped down at the start of July to be replaced by chief operating officer Ivan Menezes, pocketed around £12.3m alone from Diageo’s long term incentive plan, about 83 per cent of [...]
Highland Gold keeps output target August 12, 2013 Highland Gold, the Russian gold producer part-owned by oligarch Roman Abramovich, yesterday maintained its full-year production guidance of 225,000 to 240,000 ounces of gold, as it posted a 3.7 per cent increase in half-year output from two of its mines. Its newly-acquired Kekura project has started exploration activities.
Bank holiday strike at Stansted August 12, 2013 Stansted’s baggage-scanning staff have voted to strike over the August bank holiday over backdated pay cuts proposed by employer Mitie. The GMB union said 92 per cent of the workers who voted were in favour of the walkout. Mitie employs around 40 people to scan checked-in luggage before it is loaded onto planes.
SVG Capital values surge August 12, 2013 SVG Capital, the listed private equity group and the biggest investor in funds managed by Hugo Boss owner Permira, yesterday said the value of its portfolio shot up 23 per cent over the last six months. It also revealed a deal to sell its SVG Investment Managers division to Swiss-based investor Hansa Aktiengesellschaft.
New Dragon in Den but firm is still in the red August 12, 2013 A NEW Dragon entered the Den on Sunday night as Piers Linney, the co-founder of cloud computing firm Outsourcery, made his first appearance on the long-running BBC Two show. The Capitalist cheered Linney’s first investment – a mere £30,000 for a five per cent stake in Skinny Tan, a fake tan product that promises to reduce [...]
Sheryl Sandberg bags £59m but hangs onto huge Facebook stake August 12, 2013 AFTER more than a year of stock market wobbles, Facebook shares have recently climbed back to their float price of $38, to the great relief of investors and the banks that advised on the May 2012 debut. For chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg the stock’s return to the Plimsoll line set by the float has [...]
Thames Water looks to raise its bills by £29 August 12, 2013 THAMES Water yesterday applied to industry regulator Ofwat for permission to raise its prices by eight per cent next year, which would add around £29 to the average household bill. The water supplier said this would cover a rise in bad debt, increased government charges, costs associated with the 2011 transfer of private sewers to [...]
Property firm DTZ set for Aussie listing as UGL reveals demerger August 12, 2013 AUSTRALIAN engineering giant UGL announced yesterday it plans to split its property services business DTZ from its engineering wing, less than two years after buying the British property name. The company, which has seen shares slump by around 32 per cent this year, said it plans to list DTZ as a separate company on the [...]