Bramson leaves F&C with double his investment August 22, 2013 CORPORATE raider Edward Bramson yesterday stepped down from fund manager F&C Asset Management having doubled his money at the firm Bramson, who through his firm Sherborne Investors took control of the faltering company in February 2011, quit his role yesterday having made a 100 per cent return for himself and investors. The FTSE 250 listed [...]
Osmond quits Phoenix after eight years August 22, 2013 HUGH Osmond yesterday quit the board of the closed book life insurer he founded eight years ago, signalling an end to a lengthy – and not always easy – association with the industry. Osmond, the co-founder of Pizza Express, began building up Pearl in 2005, making a series of costly acquisitions. After struggling with a [...]
RSM Tenon sold to Baker Tilly in pre-pack deal August 22, 2013 RSM TENON was pushed into administration yesterday as its main lender and eventual buyer Baker Tilly failed to strike a deal for a solvent takeover. The UK’s only listed accountancy firm, which had already warned investors that its shares were worthless, called in Deloitte to arrange the pre-pack administration. Baker Tilly will close its deal [...]
Bottom Line: Deal shows rising use of administration August 22, 2013 WHILE the writing had been on the wall for RSM Tenon for several months, the form of its eventual sale took many by surprise. Pre-pack administrations are an increasingly common presence on the high street, where retailers from Dreams to HMV have continued to trade following such deals, but a pre-pack for an accounting firm [...]
Supergroup to launch its first stores in Turkey August 22, 2013 SUPERGROUP, the company behind the Superdry fashion label, is to make its first foray into Turkey after signing a deal with a local franchise partner to open stores in the country. The popular clothing brand, whose celebrity fans include Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas and singer Ed Sheeran, announced yesterday that it has signed a [...]
Jack Daniels toasts rising demand with $100m new distillery in the US August 22, 2013 THE MAKERS of Jack Daniel’s whiskey will spend more than $100m to increase production to meet the growing thirst for the world-famous Tennessee whiskey. Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Forman will build a new distillery, adding stills, barrel warehouses and related infrastructure, to boost production at its Lynchburg, Tennessee factory, the oldest registered distillery in the United [...]
WH Smith is on track to meet forecasts as it keeps lid on costs August 22, 2013 BOOKS and stationery chain WH Smith said yesterday it was on track to meet full-year forecasts as its strategy to improve margins and cost savings continued to pay off. In a pre-close trading update, the retailer said its travel business, which includes outlets in railway stations and airports, had continued its good performance and was [...]
Yahoo’s US web traffic overtakes Google in July August 22, 2013 YAHOO chief executive Marissa Mayer scored a coup over her former employer Google yesterday, after new figures showed its web services pulled in more visitors than Google for the first time in more than two years. A total of 196.6m unique users visited Yahoo sites last month, pushing it ahead of Google which attracted 192.2m [...]
Abercrombie & Fitch disappoints as same-store sales plummet August 22, 2013 ABERCROMBIE & Fitch reported comparable sales and profit far below Wall Street expectations yesterday, blaming a drop in store visits by shoppers, and the teen retailer said business will decline even more during the current back-to-school quarter. The company said comparable sales, which include online sales and sales at stores open at least a year, [...]
Primary Healthcare profits soar August 22, 2013 Primary Healthcare Properties said yesterday it expects to see “significant” demand for its healthcare facilities as a result of the government’s decision to disband primary care trusts and hand over power to local commissioning groups under radical NHS reforms that came into effect in April. The company has been expanding its portfolio in preparation and [...]