Kuwaitis buy into City safe haven December 15, 2011 KUWAITI property firm St Martins Corporation has bought a £176m office development at the heart of the City from Hammerson, in the latest sign of overseas investors buying into London as a safe haven. The nine-storey office tower at 60 Threadneedle Street is on the site of the former stock exchange, having been redeveloped by [...]
Omega rejects Mark Byrne’s reduced offer December 15, 2011 THE INSURANCE group Omega yesterday rejected a reduced tender offer from entrepreneur Mark Byrne, warning that it would also take action to protect its interests. Byrne recently lapsed an offer to buy up to 25 per cent of the shares in the group at a price of 83p each, claiming that regulatory clearances he needed [...]
Henderson feeling special as 2011 profit set to soar December 15, 2011 FUND manager Henderson said profit will rise by more than half despite global turmoil hitting the markets. The firm expects underlying profit for 2011 to reach between £155m and £159m, which would take it to growth of up to 57.9 per cent. It also said it should earn £11m in performance fees for the second [...]
Ofcom drops TV ads review December 15, 2011 British media regulator Ofcom has decided not to refer the television advertising trading market for a full competition review after finding that the system was functioning properly, it said yesterday. Ofcom had in June opened a consultation on whether the way TV advertising was bought and sold could restrict competition.
Waitrose tops supermarket poll December 15, 2011 Waitrose has topped the Which? annual customer satisfaction survey for the third year running, winning a score of 83 per cent as its big four rivals failed to impress. Budget retailers Aldi and Lidl came second and third respectively, beating Mark & Spencer – which came fourth – for the first time. Tesco and The [...]
BAE gets earnings lift in tax deal December 15, 2011 Europe’s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems said yesterday it had done a deal with the UK tax authorities that will give a benefit to its earnings per share of around 5.9p for the current year. BAE said the deal addressed the interpretation of complex tax rules relating to research and development tax credits.
SEC to appeal Citigroup decision December 15, 2011 America’s top market regulator is appealing a judge’s rejection of a major Citigroup civil securities fraud settlement, according to court papers filed yesterday. The $285m settlement was rejected by a judge last month as “pocket change’ for Citi and he criticised the SEC’s policy of settling cases without defendants admitting wrongdoing.
We’re nearly at £300,000! December 15, 2011 We have been overwhelmed by the huge support from our readers for City A.M.’s first-ever Christmas charity appeal. After just four weeks of fundraising we are delighted to be within reach of raising £300,000 for our chosen charity, Opportunity International, which offers small loans and banking services to entrepreneurs in southern Malawi. We’re now asking [...]
Ashley in line for a Sports Direct bonus December 15, 2011 SPORT DIRECT’s majority owner Mike Ashley could be in line for a £12m shares windfall if the sporting goods retailer meets a series of targets over the next four years. Under new proposals Ashley, who currently receives no pay for his role as executive deputy chairman, stands to be granted 6m shares if the group [...]
Moss Bros sees sales buck high street gloom December 15, 2011 MENSWEAR brand Moss Bros has posted a double-digit rise in sales in defiance of tough trading conditions on the high street. The suits specialist said like-for-like sales for the first 19 weeks of the second half were 10.5 per cent up on the previous year, despite tougher market conditions. Gross profits were 7.9 per cent [...]