Comet collapse to be probed by government December 18, 2012 Comet will close down its remaining stores today, as the government confirmed it has launched an investigation into the administration of the electrical chain. The last 49 stores out of a 235-strong chain will be closed today, bringing to an end the store’s 19-year history. Almost 7000 people will lose their jobs, at a cost [...]
Interserve snaps up healthcare services company for £26.5m December 18, 2012 Support services and construction group Interserve has acquired a leading healthcare services firm in a cash deal worth £26.5m. In a statement this morning, the FTSE 250 firm said the acquisition of Rutland Partners-backed Advantage Healthcare would widen its access to the £10bn community healthcare market. Advantage Healthcare, which has gross assets of around £5m, [...]
Petrofac on track to deliver 2012 profit target December 18, 2012 British oil services company Petrofac is on track to deliver net profit growth of 15 per cent this year, it said this morning. The FTSE 100 firm, which designs and builds oil and gas infrastructure, said that operations continued to perform in line with expectations, with particular good performance in the engineering, construction, operations & [...]
Rank could sell off six casinos to win clearance for Gala merger December 18, 2012 Gaming group Rank may have to sell off six casinos in the UK for its bid for rival operator Gala to be green-lit, the Competition Commission said this morning. In May, Rank Group agreed to buy a string of casinos from Gala Coral in a £205m cash deal that would add 23 UK casinos to [...]
Aggreko fails to light up FTSE 100 December 17, 2012 Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko weighed heavily on the blue chip index in early trading, sinking more than 17 per cent. This morning it warned of a slowdown in 2013, following a strong current year of trading. Paul Jones, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said this morning that 2013 has “stronger headwinds than expected, and previous [...]
Spain’s Santander to absorb Banesto December 17, 2012 Spanish bank Santander said this morning it is to absorb its 90 per cent owned subsidiary Banesto through a merger. Banco Santander currently holds 89.74 per cent of Banesto’s share capital. Banesto shareholders will receive Santander shares at a premium of 24.9 per cent. Trading in both banks’ shares was suspended this morning. The transaction [...]
BP offloads stake in North Sea field December 17, 2012 Oil major BP this morning announced it was to sell its interest in a North Sea gas field to SSE for $288m (£177.8m) in cash. Completion of the deal, to sell BP’s non-operated 50 per cent stake in the Sean gas field, is expected in the first half of next year. Sean is currently operated [...]
Kcell starts trading on the LSE December 17, 2012 Kazakh mobile telecoms provider Kcell started trading on the London Stock Exchange this morning. Trading in Kcell’s global depository receipts started at 8am. Last week, Kcell announced it had raised $525m (£324m) in its London and Almaty-based initial public offering for parent company TeliaSonera. Credit Suisse, UBS Investment Bank and Visor Capital acted as joint [...]
Aggreko warns of slowdown in 2013 December 17, 2012 Temporary power solutions provider Aggreko this morning warned of a slowdown in 2013, following a strong year for the company. Over the year to December, group revenues are expected to come in at around £1.6bn, up 13 per cent. Profit before tax and amortisation is expected to increase 12 per cent to £365m it said [...]
UK construction output increases in October December 14, 2012 UK construction output rose 8.3 per cent month on month in October, raising hopes that the sector will boost GDP figures in the final quarter of the year. According to official figures from the Office for National Statistics, output from the sector fell 5.1 per cent year on year in October – the slowest rate [...]
