Drax raises £190m in placing for biomass fuel conversion October 25, 2012 POWER station operator Drax yesterday said it had raised £190m through a share placing to support the firm’s transformation into a biomass-fuelled electricity generator. The FTSE 250 energy firm, which runs a coal-fired power station in Yorkshire, placed just under 36.5m shares, representing almost 10 per cent of its existing share capital, at a price [...]
Kazakhmys on track for target October 25, 2012 COPPER miner Kazakhmys yesterday said it was on target to reach its full-year output target of between 285,000 tonnes and 295,000 tonnes of the base metal. Over the three months to September, it posted a 12 per cent increase in copper cathode output. Total copper sales over the nine months to September were 17,000 tonnes [...]
Segro rental income rises October 25, 2012 SEGRO yesterday said it had made progress against a challenging backdrop in the third quarter, reducing vacancy rates and bagging a trio of pre-let deals. The industrial property company said total rental income increased by £7.1m in the period. It has also signed three new pre-let development contracts, which will produce £1.8m of income in [...]
Who’s switching jobs October 25, 2012 McCarthy & Stone The construction firm has appointed Mark Elliott as its new chief executive. He previously worked for Arena Leisure, the hotel and race course operator, where he oversaw its merger with Northern Racing in March 2012. Elliott was also formerly chief executive of Wembley. Otkritie The Russian financial services firm has appointed Ruben [...]
Best of the Brokers October 25, 2012 HOME RETAIL GROUP UBS maintains its “buy” rating for the consumer goods retailer, raising its target price from 115p to 120p. The broker will not change full-year 2013 PBT and outer year estimates. APR ENERGY Seymour Pierce has downgraded the power provider from “hold” to “reduce,” lowering its target price to 650p from 685p. The [...]
Hotel interiors need not be dull and predictable – just ask Kit Kemp October 25, 2012 I want to pique the imagination of even the most jaded businessman,” says Kit Kemp, design director and co-founder of Firmdale Hotels, the group that includes the buzzy Soho, Covent Garden and Charlotte Street Hotels. “If I can do that for a second, then we’ve achieved something.” Pique, she definitely does, with her love of [...]
Xstrata shareholders to vote on Glencore merger on 20 November October 25, 2012 Shareholders in Xstrata will vote on the proposed deal with Glencore on 20 November, the commodities trader said in a statement this afternoon. The investor meeting, which will take place 10 months after the original deal was announced, will see shareholders vote on the proposed deal of 3.05 new shares for every Xstrata share. Under [...]
FTSE 100 up as Britain leaves recession October 25, 2012 The blue chip index was up in early trading, as the economy expanded by one per cent in the three months to September, the strongest quarterly growth in five years. Companies announcing results also helped to buoy the FTSE 100, such as consumer giant Unilever, which added 3.36 per cent as it announced rising sales. [...]
UK leaves recession with strong quarterly growth October 25, 2012 The economy officially emerged from recession in the three months to September, posting its strongest quarterly growth in five years. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics said this morning that the economy expanded by one per cent in the third quarter, compared to a contraction of 0.4 per cent over the previous quarter. [...]
AstraZeneca sales fall on expiring patents October 25, 2012 Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca this morning posted a 19 per cent slump in revenue over the three months to September, hurt by negative exchange rate movements. The loss of patents on some top-selling drugs accounted for most of the decline, the drugs company said this morning, as revenue for the third quarter came in at $6.7bn [...]