Man Group confirms plans for a replacement holding company September 24, 2012 HEDGE fund Man Group yesterday set the ball rolling on a corporate restructure announced in July by confirming details for a new holding company – referred to as “New Man”. The business, one of the biggest fund managers in the UK, published further details to investors yesterday on plans to use “New Man”, or Man [...]
Portillo to reveal shortlist for prize held by Bad Government September 24, 2012 LAST year’s winner was the imaginatively titled Bad Government by Henrietta Simpson. And tonight Michael Portillo will announce the shortlisted artworks for the 2012 annual Threadneedle Prize for Painting and Sculpture. The prize, sponsored by the London-based investment manager Threadneedle Investments, has been increased this year to £30,000, making the accolade the country’s most valuable [...]
Sberbank shares launch on LSE in UK’s biggest listing of 2012 September 24, 2012 RUSSIAN giant Sberbank listed in the London Stock Exchange yesterday, joining the flood of firms from the country coming to the City. The Russian central bank sold a 7.6 per cent stake in the institution, raising $5.2bn (£3.2bn) on the Moscow and London markets – though 85 to 90 per cent of that was on [...]
Promsvyazbank confirms plans for London float September 24, 2012 PROMSVYAZBANK (PSB), one of Russia’s largest privately owned lenders, said yesterday it will proceed with its long-awaited initial public offering (IPO), aiming to strengthen its capital and better position itself to compete with state-owned banks. PSB is seeking to capitalise on positive investor sentiment towards Russian banks, powered by market leader Sberbank’s partial privatisation last [...]
Global Radio checks out of the MXR digital radio multiplex September 24, 2012 GLOBAL Radio, the commercial radio group headed by Ashley Tabor, has decided not to extend its licence on the MXR multiplex that covers regional centres for digital radio coverage. The group, which recently signed a 12 year deal to broadcast its stations from a multiplex operated by the German media group Bauer, said it was [...]
Prada puts its best foot forward September 24, 2012 Italian fashion house Prada yesterday dismissed talk of a sharp slowdown in spending on luxury goods, posting a 59.5 per cent jump in net profit to €286.4m ( £228.4m) and saying its sales in the past two months were on track with expectations. “I think we must stay calm and be less hysterical,” said Patrizio [...]
AG Barr silent on merger plan as income dips September 24, 2012 AG BARR, the Scottish soft drinks maker, yesterday remained silent on its proposed £1.4bn tie-up with larger rival Britvic as it shrugged off a fall in half-year profit. The group, best known for its bright orange Irn-Bru drink, said pre-tax profits fell eight per cent to £14.9m in the six months to 28 July despite [...]
Dairy Crest’s half-year profits to fall as it pays more for milk September 24, 2012 DAIRY Crest warned of lower half-year profits yesterday as its core milk business continued to face “unprecedented market conditions”. But the milk supplier left its profit forecasts for 2013 unchanged. Dairy Crest also became the latest milk supplier to increase the price it pays farmers for their milk following July’s protests. The company, which buys [...]
Finsbury Foods reports great bake-off as sales top £200m September 24, 2012 FINSBURY Food Group, the cake and bread maker, yesterday posted a surge in full-year profits across all of its divisions after sales exceeded £200m for the first time. The Aim-listed company, which supplies retailers including Waitrose, Tesco and Thorntons, said adjusted profits before tax rose 11.6 per cent to £6.5m for the year to 30 [...]
Music Festivals set to go into administration September 24, 2012 THE COMPANY that runs the Hop Farm and Benicassim music festivals yesterday confirmed it was set to go into administration after the firm suspended shares last week. Music Festivals, which also operates Finsbury Park’s Feis Festival and the newly launched Costa de Fuego event in Spain, admitted on Friday it had failed to raise funds [...]