Four Seasons closes in on a new debt deal with lenders April 25, 2012 THE FUTURE of Four Seasons Health Care, Britain’s largest care homes operator, is set to be decided in the coming days following talks with possible bidders. Guy Hands’ Terra Firma is believed to be in talks with Four Seasons, as well as a consortium of Patron Capital and Formation Capital. Four Seasons is trading profitably [...]
Sales increase at Bisto and Hovis manufacturer Premier Foods April 25, 2012 PREMIER Foods, Britain’s biggest food manufacturer, said yesterday that first-quarter sales rose slightly and its cost-cutting and restructuring programme was on track. The maker of Bisto gravy and Hovis bread, which has been working to turn its business around, said the consumer environment would be less challenging than 2011, and it would continue to divest [...]
Fenner’s profit rise powered by energy and mining sectors April 25, 2012 BRITISH industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner yesterday reported a higher first-half profit on strong demand from its energy and mining customers, and said it was confident of continued progress through the year. “Trading was very strong in the first half as growth drivers in our core businesses remained positive,” chairman Mark Abrahams said in a [...]
BRITISH AIRWAYS LAUNCHES NEW ROUTE April 25, 2012 BRITISH Airways is launching a new route between London City airport and Aberdeen, with three return flights per day. BA CityFlyer will operate the service starting in September, in addition to the seven return flights it already runs between Heathrow and the Scottish city.
Correction April 25, 2012 ■ An article in yesterday’s edition of the newspaper incorrectly attributed a quote to Moody’s chief credit officer Alastair Wilson. The quote began: “It’s incumbent on all of us, including ratings agencies, to do the role we play…” It and the response to a question by Andrew Leadsom MP was in fact said by Fitch [...]
Lloyds sells £1.4bn SME bond April 25, 2012 ■ The government fully guaranteed £1.4bn of debt raised by Lloyds bank yesterday to put towards the Treasury’s credit easing programme. The bank will pay 1.5 per cent on the five-year bond, lower than its normal borrowing costs, but it has a duty to pass on the cost-savings to small businesses in the form of [...]
Luxury division cushions PPR April 25, 2012 ■ French luxury and retail group PPR posted a rise in first-quarter revenue yesterday, helped by buoyant luxury sales, which offset sluggish growth at its retail outlet Fnac and sports and lifestyle company Puma. The luxury division, which includes Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent and accounts for almost half of company sales, grew 17.8 per [...]
Overseas units help to protect profit at BBVA April 25, 2012 OVERSEAS expansion helped cushion Spanish bank BBVA from the worst of the crisis in its home country as it yesterday revealed a better than expected €1.01bn net profit for the first quarter. The smaller than expected 13 per cent decline in profit from €1.15bn a year earlier was largely thanks to its performance beyond Spain. [...]
HSBC to slash 2,000 UK jobs in global cost-cutting spree April 25, 2012 HSBC will announce that it is culling 2,000 jobs in the UK this morning as part of its programme to cut 30,000 roles by the end of next year. The cuts will include some London-based jobs in wealth management, which it is understood the bank is shrinking in response to the retail distribution review (RDR), [...]
Nasdaq upbeat as declares its first dividend April 25, 2012 NASDAQ OMX declared its first quarterly dividend yesterday, but said first-quarter net earnings declined due in part to lower US trading volumes for stocks and derivatives. The exchange operator said it would pay a quarterly dividend of 13 cents a share, a two per cent yield, reflecting its strong cash flow and capital generation. It [...]