Yell in 500m fundraising September 23, 2009 STRUGGLING publisher Yell said yesterday it plans to raise at least £500m through a rights issue as it attempts to repay its £3.8bn debt-pile. The Yellow Pages publisher has been in discussions with its creditors since June about its debt repayments, and confirmed yesterday that its proposals now had the backing of “a significant proportion” [...]
Goldshield agrees 166m deal with AIT September 23, 2009 PHARMACEUTICAL firm Goldshield last night said it had agreed terms on an improved £165.7m offer made by AIT, its former chief executive’s bid vehicle. AIT yesterday raised its offer to 450p, up from its 440p original bid. Goldshield, which manufacturers appetite suppressant drug Appesat, found itself in the centre of a bid battle after the [...]
Pensions body opposes McCreevy’s EU directive September 23, 2009 THE National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has hit back of the proposed Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, branding parts of it “misguided”. In a letter to the European commissioner for internal market and services Charlie McCreevy, NAPF chief executive Joanne Segars opposed the directive, saying it would reduce investment returns, boost costs and increase [...]
BlackRock deal for BGI gains approval of EC September 23, 2009 FUND manager BlackRock has won regulatory approval from the European Commission (EC) for its $13.5bn (£8.2bn) purchase of Barclays Global Investors (BGI). The Commission said the deal did not raise competition concerns, despite overlaps between the two firms in areas such as retail asset management. It said the new entity, BlackRock Global Investors, would be [...]
Business activity picking up across the eurozone September 23, 2009 PRIVATE sector output in the eurozone increased for the second consecutive month in September, as the services sector returned to positive territory, according to data released yesterday. Markit’s purchase managers index (PMI) for the eurozone rose to a 16-month high of 50.8 in the period, up from 50.4 in August, though this was a smaller [...]
WILL YELL’S REFINANCING PROPOSALS BE ENOUGH TO SECURE ITS FUTURE? September 23, 2009 ALEX DEGROOTE PANMURE GORDONBased on what was said today, the plans seem fairly well-advanced. I think it is a step in the right direction, but it has been well-trailed and the news has already been priced into the shares, which have been hit today by the underwhelming trading outlook given by the firm. ANDY VINER [...]
CONSERVATION AREAS NEAR THE CITY September 23, 2009 GRAFF HOUSE, RICHMONDGraff House sits within the trust grounds of St Margarets, a mile away from Richmond town centre. St Margarets trust grounds are made up of three secure private gardens making up 12 acres, which naturally lend themselves to family picnics, tennis tournaments and sports days. The Thames, Kew Gardens and the Richmond Deer [...]
Lawyers lobby G20 over emissions September 22, 2009 EARLIER this month UK lawyers issued a “communiqué” calling on the G20 to implement more effective regulation ahead of the Pittsburgh summit which begins tomorrow, and the UN climate-change convention in Copenhagen in December which is expected to produce a successor to the Kyoto agreement. So, why should world leaders listen to a bunch of [...]
OFT SENDING OUT MESSAGE TO BUSINESS September 22, 2009 MICHAEL GRENFELLCOMPETITION LAW PARTNER AT NORTON ROSE LLP THE huge fines imposed yesterday by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on UK construction companies for cartel activity send a strong signal to British business generally: the authorities will penalise anti-competitive behaviour, even in a recession. The fines totalling £129.5m on 103 construction firms for bid [...]
A Dragon with style and substance September 22, 2009 IN Duncan Bannatyne’s smartly understated Covent Garden flat, one item stands out. Between the elegant cream sofas of the living room and the smooth lines of his minimalist kitchen sits a curved, asymmetrical armchair of the most garish, glaring pink. “It reflects my feminine side,” says the entrepreneur, as he settles into the chair to [...]
