Swiss firm Maus Freres snaps up Lacoste November 15, 2012 LACOSTE has been snapped up by Swiss family-owned group Maus Freres in a deal which valued the French brand at €1bn (£0.8bn), Maus Freres said yesterday. Founded in 1933 by French tennis champion Rene Lacoste, his descendants have decided to sell their remaining stake to the Swiss retailer, which already own 35 per cent, after [...]
Savills on track for higher profits November 15, 2012 Property agent Savills said yesterday it was on track to deliver annual profits ahead of forecasts despite a slowdown in transaction volumes in many of its markets. In an interim statement for 1 July to date, Savills said prime London residential and Asia Pacific continued to trade well while its commercial business increased market share. [...]
Derwent makes £23m acquisition November 15, 2012 Derwent London has snapped up 9 and 16 Prescot Street in Whitechapel for £23m. The buildings, which total 111,000 square feet, are let until 2015 to the Cooperative Bank and an Indian restaurant. Reporting its third quarter figures, the developer said it expects a four to five per cent growth in rental values over 2012, [...]
JLT signs largest letting of the year November 15, 2012 Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) is to move its headquarters to The St Botolph Building in the City, sealing London’s largest letting deal this year. The insurer said yesterday it has signed a 25 year lease with Minerva – owned by Delancey and AREA Property Partners – for 287,000 square feet, at a rent of about [...]
Investec’s asset income eases profit pressure November 15, 2012 INVESTEC’S profits fell in the first half of the year, with the poor state of the world economy hitting trading, lending and investment incomes, the bank and asset manager’s results showed yesterday. Profits dropped 5.8 per cent, coming in at £168.5m in the six-month period, down from £178.9m in the same period of last year. [...]
3i restructure gathers pace as firm trims overseas office staff November 15, 2012 LISTED alternative investor 3i, which invests in businesses and infrastructure, yesterday said it remained on track to restructure the firm after cutting 104 staff and shifting its focus onto its debt management business. The company, which invests in private equity infrastructure and debt funds, said it wanted to reduce staff numbers by a third by [...]
E&Y gets Farepak audit complaint November 15, 2012 Ernst & Young (E&Y) faces disciplinary action over its audit of the parent company of Farepak, the savings firm that collapsed shortly before Christmas 2006. The Financial Reporting Council said it has filed a disciplinary formal complaint against the big four auditor and one of its former staff for signing off Farepak’s 2005 accounts and [...]
KPN sells German mobile towers November 15, 2012 Dutch telecoms group KPN, stepping up its battle to keep debt under control, yesterday agreed to sell some of its German mobile towers for €393m. The deal with US group American Tower, which will lead to a book gain of €100m, comes on top of a decision in late October to sell its Dutch mobile [...]
P&G outlines further job cuts November 15, 2012 Procter & Gamble (P&G) plans to trim more non-manufacturing jobs through 2016, on top of cutting 10 per cent of that workforce by the end of June, it said yesterday. P&G also said it may increase stock repurchases to $6bn from $4bn, but said such additional buybacks should not have a big impact on earnings [...]
Three says no thanks to 4G as customers rise November 15, 2012 THE UK’S fourth-largest mobile operator, Three, signed up a million extra customers in the last year, putting a dent in its rivals’ numbers. Announcing the figures yesterday, Three outlined a plan to bolster its current network rather than focus on the 4G technology that others are pursuing. This raises the possibility that a January auction [...]