Sky may lose out in Pub TV football case February 3, 2011 THE Premier League’s battle with a Portsmouth-based publican suffered a major setback yesterday. A senior advocate from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) threw her weight behind landlady Karen Murphy in a landmark case, paving the way for a decision that could change the landscape of sports distribution rights in Europe and cost Sky £70m [...]
US Embassy attracts £250m property scheme to Vauxhall February 3, 2011 TWO skyscrapers are being planned for Vauxhall, as developer CLS hopes to cash in on the multi-billion pound regeneration in the area. CLS aims to submit planning permission in late 2011 for two mixed-use towers of over 40 storeys at the Vauxhall Cross site, which is opposite Vauxhall Tube station and close to the new [...]
John Wood eyes unit sale February 3, 2011 ENERGY services firm John Wood Group yesterday said it was looking into the possible sale of its well support unit, which helps energy companies improve production rates and recovery from oil and gas wells. Sources said the company had put the division on the block and had hired Credit Suisse to advise on the sale. [...]
NEST names its fund managers February 3, 2011 THE new national pension scheme said it has appointed UBS, State Street and BlackRock to run five investment mandates likely to be worth billions of pounds. The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) said UBS Global Asset Management will run an equity mandate, State Street will run two bond funds while BlackRock will take charge of [...]
Property aids profit surge at Blackstone February 3, 2011 PRIVATE equity and real estate investor Blackstone Group said it will start fundraising for its next real estate fund this year, expected to be the same size as its $10bn (£6.2bn) 2008 fund. Blackstone said the value of its real estate funds rose 19 per cent for the quarter and 69 per cent for the [...]
Deutsche Bank bullish on 2011 February 3, 2011 DEUTSCHE Bank is winning market share to combat falling margins in its key investment banking arm and is confident of its ambitious 2011 profit target, top bosses said yesterday. The bank also revealed an average investment banker pay of over $500,000 (£309,000) each last year, a bigger bonanza than that enjoyed by employees of the [...]
Munich Re ups dividend despite rise in claims as natural disasters take a toll February 3, 2011 EARTHQUAKES, storms and floods sent claims soaring and dented profits at Munich Re last year but the world’s biggest reinsurer said it could manage to maintain earnings at a high level, boosting its share price. In a sign it was expecting less earnings volatility ahead, Munich Re said yesterday it would bump up its dividend [...]
L&G reaps reward from restructuring its US debt February 3, 2011 LEGAL & General has made a £46m pre-tax profit after buying back £271.3m of debt in the US. L&G has also cut its funding cost by £8m per annum through restructuring the debt, which was required as a reserve by its US life insurance business. The deal will add £82m to L&G’s capital buffers, its [...]
Investec sees good fund inflows offset slump in demand for loans February 3, 2011 SOUTH African investment bank and asset manger Investec said profit rose slightly in the first nine months of the year, as a strong fund business helped offset weak demand for loans. Investec, which operates in South Africa, Britain and Australia and is also listed in London, said demand for credit and deal activity remained subdued. [...]
Claridges owner wins NAMA case February 3, 2011 AN IRISH property developer, whose assets include London luxury hotels Claridges, the Connaught and the Berkeley, yesterday won a legal challenge to stop the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) acquiring his loans, a ruling that complicates the operations of the state-run agency, dubbed the “bad bank”. Ireland’s Supreme Court said yesterday a decision to acquire [...]