Severn Trent to target bonds at retail investors June 21, 2012 INDIVIDUAL investors will have the chance to buy bonds from FTSE 100 utilities firm Severn Trent, the company announced yesterday. The company hopes to raise up to £100m from the scheme, which will offer individuals a return of 1.9 per cent above retail price inflation (RPI) over the next 10 years. “There’s a lot of [...]
ADVISERS June 21, 2012 BARCLAYS TOBY CROASDELL CHARLOTTE WEIR Severn Trent’s inflation-linked bond issue is the first move by a water company into the fast-growing market for RPI-linked bonds. The deal was jointly arranged by Investec and a Barclays team that included directors Toby Croasdell of the fixed income syndicate and Charlotte Weir of corporate debt capital markets. This [...]
ICAP finalises purchase of Plus Markets June 21, 2012 TROUBLED exchange operator Plus Markets appears to have entered its final weeks after finalising the sale of its stock exchange unit to ICAP yesterday. Completion of the controversial deal to sell Plus-SX – which will leave shareholders with around £640,000 – means that the group will press ahead with plans to wind-up the rest of the [...]
Worldwide M&A volume drops a quarter in 2012 June 21, 2012 GLOBAL M&A volume has fallen by a quarter so far this year compared to the same period in 2011, according to research unveiled yesterday. Data from Thomson Reuters shows that worldwide M&A volumes have hit just $1,002bn (£640bn) so far in 2012, a decline of 25 per cent, as the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the Eurozone [...]
Addleshaws to cut staff as fee income rises June 21, 2012 LAW firm Addleshaw Goddard said yesterday it had begun a restructuring process that could see it lose up to 24 of its fee earners, as it reported a 37 per cent rise in profits per partner (PEP). Overall profits at the firm rose by 30 per cent, from £34.4m to £44.9m, while PEP – a [...]
Carr apologises for ‘terrible error of judgement’ June 21, 2012 COMEDIAN Jimmy Carr said he made “a terrible error of judgement” in using a legal offshore tax scheme to reduce his payments to HMRC. “I appreciate as a comedian, people will expect me to ‘make light’ of this situation, but I’m not going to in this statement,” Carr said on Twitter. “Although I’ve been advised [...]
DO YOU THINK THE UK TAX SYSTEM IS TOO COMPLICATED? June 21, 2012 ANDREW SHEEHAN SMBC EUROPE I think the system is too complicated and a flat tax is worth looking at in light of Jimmy Carr. A flat tax could be worked out, we just need the political nerve to do it. This wouldn’t be unfair on lower earners. PHIL MORSE DT I think it’s actually quite [...]
Dixons plans to shut 40 shops as profits sink June 21, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of Dixons Retail said the group is planning to axe a further 40 stores on UK high streets as it reported a 17 per cent fall in pre-tax profits to £70.8m. Sebastian James, who replaced John Browett in February, said he intends to trim down its estate of 557 shops to about [...]
IS DIXONS RETAIL IN A GOOD POSITION FOR THE YEAR AHEAD? June 21, 2012 DAVID JEARY INVESTEC The continued strength of Nordics…and the improved performance from UK & Ireland clearly show the success of the renewal & transformation plan and the growing traction of the KNOWHOW service proposition…we continue to view Dixons as a long-term winner in electricals, hence our ‘buy’ stance. JOHN CUMMINS WH IRELAND Dixons’ results for [...]
Shop Direct picks banker as new chief June 21, 2012 HOME shopping retailer Shop Direct has hired Lombard banker Alex Baldock as its new chief executive. Shop Direct, which owns Littlewoods and the online guise of Woolworths, said Baldock will join in September when incumbent Mark Newton-Jones retires after nine years. Baldock, 41, has a financial rather than retail background, having worked for Barclays, Bain [...]