BlackRock makes $55m punt on Manchester United shares January 30, 2013 INVESTMENT giant BlackRock yesterday bought eight per cent of the available shares in Manchester United football club, worth around $55m (£34.8m) at yesterday’s closing price. A filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveals the New York-based company has snapped up 3.3m shares in the Old Trafford-based business. The football club completed its IPO [...]
OFT blames tax for high petrol prices in the UK January 30, 2013 HIGH fuel prices in the UK are due to high duty and VAT, not a lack of competition, competition authorities concluded yesterday. There is no need for a full inquiry into UK petrol pricing, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday, because there is no persuasive evidence of anti-competitive behaviour in fuel markets. In [...]
Tube could run until 2am, says transport boss January 30, 2013 THE TUBE could run until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, the managing director of London Underground said yesterday. Mike Brown said that now the Tube’s modernisation programme is well underway, there is scope to scale back the amount of time dedicated to late-night engineering work and allow trains to run later some of the [...]
Kensington roof gardens on sale for £200m January 30, 2013 KENSINGTON ROOF GARDENS, one of London’s most glamorous party venues, has been put up for sale for around £200m. The grade II listed gardens overlooking Kensington High Street have been leased since 1981 by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin group. Its Asian owners are believed to have hired Jones Lang LaSalle to sell the building, according [...]
Tesco ends deal with supplier in horse scandal January 30, 2013 TESCO yesterday fired a supplier controlled by Ireland’s most powerful beef baron for selling it burgers containing horse meat. The grocer also promised to use DNA testing equipment to check the content of products on its shelves. Britain’s biggest supermarket chain is reeling from a wave of bad publicity after the Irish food safety authority [...]
Boeing profits impress as firm awaits Dreamliner probe results January 30, 2013 BOEING posted stronger-than-expected profit yesterday as its backlog of orders rose, and said its 2013 forecast assumed no significant financial impact from the grounding of its 787 Dreamliner jet by regulators. Boeing said net income fell to $978m (£619.5m), or $1.28 per share, in the fourth quarter, from $1.39bn, or $1.84 per share, in the [...]
BP Marsh gets approach for Hyperion stake January 30, 2013 BP Marsh was yesterday forced by a rising share price to issue a statement confirming that it is in talks with a potential buyer for its 13.5 per cent shareholding in insurance group Hyperion. The specialist private equity investor said discussions were progressing at a normal pace but there could be no certainty that these [...]
Bank fees drive Evercore profit January 30, 2013 EVERCORE Partners quarterly profit more than doubled as the boutique investment bank earned more fees from its investment banking business. Evercore, founded as a merger and asset management firm in 1996 by former US deputy treasury secretary Roger Altman, has been aggressively hiring senior bankers as it looks to grab a bigger slice of the [...]
Cobbetts nears administration January 30, 2013 LAW firm Cobbetts, head quartered in Manchester, is set to enter administration, blaming “difficult trading conditions” for the move. The firm, which also has offices in London, Birmingham and Leeds, said it would sell off its business and assets as soon as possible. Cobbetts attempt to merge with rival law firm DWF failed last year.
Booz Allen profits drop January 30, 2013 TECHNOLOGY consultants Booz Allen yesterday reported a fall in net income to $56.2m (£35.6m) for the final three months of 2013, down from $62.9m for the same period last year. Revenue at the US business was $1.39bn, a decrease of 3.5 per cent. The company blamed “challenging market conditions for government contractors” for the fall.