Upbeat outlook from P&G August 1, 2013 Procter & Gamble forecast a slightly more upbeat 2014 than expected yesterday as chief executive AG Lafley tries to get the world’s largest household products maker back on track without sacrificing profitability. P&G reported lower quarterly earnings but they still topped the company’s muted expectations from April. Core earnings per share fell to 79 cents [...]
Crisp firm Tyrrells sold for £100m August 1, 2013 TYRRELLS, the premium snacks firm which uses only potatoes from local Herefordshire farmers for its UK crisps, has been snapped up by private equity firm Investcorp in a £100m deal. The firm, founded 11 years ago by farmer Will Chase as a sideline to his traditional Herefordshire farm, will continue to be led by current [...]
Theo Fennell succumbs to £2.9m takeover offer from EME Capital August 1, 2013 THEO Fennell, the premium jeweller favoured by celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Victoria Beckham, has finally agreed to be taken over by finance house EME Capital in a £2.9m deal. The firms have been locked in talks since last September, with the extraordinary length of the discussions requiring 10 extensions from The Takeover Panel [...]
Luton Airport snapped up by Aena and Axa August 1, 2013 LUTON Airport is set to expand after the rights to run the airport were snapped up by Spanish infrastructure group Aena and Axa’s private equity arm. Aena has teamed up with Axa to buy the remaining 90 per cent from fellow Spanish firm Abertis in a deal worth £433m. State-owned Aena already held 10 per [...]
Equistone takes a bite out of Charles & Alice August 1, 2013 EQUISTONE Partners, the private equity firm carved out of Barclays two years ago, yesterday backed a buyout of upmarket French dessert maker Charles & Alice Group. The deal, Equistone’s third French acquisition this year, will see the firm finance a secondary management buyout (MBO) led by Charles & Alice’s president Thierry Goubault. Terms were not [...]
Thomas Cook plots more cost cuts as summer holiday sales match forecasts August 1, 2013 THOMAS Cook’s restructuring efforts yielded a small profit in the third quarter, and cost cuts are ahead of schedule, the firm said yesterday. The travel group posted earnings before interest and tax of £1m, compared to a £45m loss in the same period last year. The firm completed a £1.6bn refinancing in the quarter, helping [...]
Stock Exchange birthday party for Winterflood August 1, 2013 CITY veteran Brian Winterflood – founder of Winterflood Securities – opened trading at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) bright and early yesterday morning. The opening bells were ringing to celebrate the firm’s milestone 25th anniversary. And The Capitalist hears that this was not the only birthday that Winterflood will be celebrating this year – 2013 [...]
The new peers are in the House August 1, 2013 THE CAPITALIST noticed a few familiar City faces among the list of 30 new peers who were welcomed to the House of Lords yesterday. Former executive director of corporate and legal affairs at Tesco Lucy Neville-Rolfe made the list, as did Charles Allen, the ex-boss of ITV, who was also appointed chairman of the executive board [...]
Vodafone reshuffles European team to revive its online push August 1, 2013 VODAFONE is to merge its northern and southern European units into one division to be led by Philipp Humm, to help the mobile operator sharpen its new focus on rolling out internet services across the region. Faced with increasing consumer demand for internet access via smartphones and tablets, the world’s second-largest mobile operator has increased [...]
UK to spend £66m on offshore wind August 1, 2013 The government has pledged to spend £66m on offshore wind developments, saying it will help the industry create 30,000 jobs and contribute £7bn to the economy by 2020. The strategy aims to improve the UK industry’s supply chain so that more manufacturing is done here, supporting the growth of jobs and work. “Offshore wind is [...]