Asda launches honours degree scheme for staff August 12, 2013 ASDA employees will this year be able to study for an undergraduate degree under a three-year scheme in partnership with Middlesex University. The supermarket giant said it will offer 30 Asda staff the chance to study for a BA (Hons) degree in either distribution or retail operations while retaining a salaried position in the store, [...]
Mitie makes positive start to the year with a growing order book August 12, 2013 OUTSOURCING firm Mitie yesterday said that it has “made a positive start to the year” and expects to achieve “good levels of organic growth” in the coming twelve months. The FTSE 250-listed company, which offers facilities, people and energy management services to businesses, has won a number of new contracts in the private and [...]
Taylor Wimpey works on capital structure with £550m debt facility August 12, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Taylor Wimpey yesterday announced it has refinanced its revolving credit facility due next year with a new £550m debt package. Group finance director Ryan Mangold said the debt facility, which matures in August 2018, will provide “ample headroom to deliver strategic objectives while reducing our finance costs.” He added: “This provides us with a [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Mitie’s trading update yesterday? August 12, 2013 CAROLINE DE LA SOUJEOLE CANTOR FITZGERALD There were no surprises in the update and there was little in terms of numerical information. The shares are trading on a price-earnings ratio of 11.5x times, compared to a peer group average of 12 times, which, in our view, fails to reflect the fact that the firm now [...]
Pawnbroker H&T blames drop in precious metal price for profit dip August 12, 2013 PAWNBROKER H&T Group yesterday blamed the collapse in the price of gold after its profits slumped by more than a third in the first half of the year. The group, which has 193 high street stores and five more under the Gold Bar brand, said pre-tax profits fell by 39 per cent to £4.6m in [...]
China on track to overtake India as world’s top gold consumer August 12, 2013 CHINA’S consumption of gold in the first six months of the year surged by more than half as sliding prices of the metal lured buyers, data showed yesterday, reinforcing expectations that it will overtake India as the world’s top gold consumer this year. Gold prices have lost about a fifth of their value this year [...]
Sirius secures £25m financing August 12, 2013 Aim-listed Sirius Minerals yesterday said it has secured a £25m convertible security financing agreement that will help fund the approvals process and development initiatives for its York Potash Project, a proposed mine in North Yorkshire. The funding was from a New York-based institutional investor and will be issued in four tranches. Macquarie acted as nominated [...]
De Beers man to head Firestone August 12, 2013 Diamond producer De Beers’ chief financial officer Stuart Brown is leaving after 20 years to join Aim-listed miner Firestone Diamonds as chief executive. Firestone’s incumbent boss Tim Wilkes will remain at the company as an executive director. Brown’s appointment comes as Firestone tries to strengthen its executive management team ahead of developing a plant at [...]
Jubilant proposes its next leader August 12, 2013 Aim-listed oil and gas explorer Jubilant Energy yesterday announced the proposed appointment of Rakesh Jain as chief executive, subject to shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting on 16 September. Jain is a mechanical engineer and was previously chief operating officer of HDFC Education & Development Services. Prior to that he was chief executive of [...]
City Moves for 13 August 2013 | Who’s switching jobs August 12, 2013 Menzies The accountancy firm has announced the appointment of Philip Alfandary as associate director in its tax team. Alfandary has practised as a taxation solicitor for nearly 20 years. He was most recently at law firm TLT, where he was a partner and head of corporate tax. Norton Rose Fulbright Elisabeth Bremner has been appointed [...]