First pushes on as Virgin chases judicial review September 2, 2012 FIRSTGROUP has been told to carry on with its preparations to take over the West Coast Main Line, despite a looming court battle launched by losing bidder Virgin Trains. The Department for Transport has assured FirstGroup that the handover contract will be signed off soon, and that it should press on with plans to take [...]
Yellow Pages owner Hibu set for more crunch ownership talks September 2, 2012 DEBT-laden Yellow Pages publisher Hibu is set to step up ownership talks with a six-strong consortium of creditors after winning a reprieve on its loan conditions. Hibu, which has £2.2bn of debts, won a reprieve from its lenders on Friday to waive some debt conditions – helping smooth plans put forward in July for a [...]
Bidders circle JJB Sports as sale kicks off September 2, 2012 THE SALE of JJB Sports has already attracted a string of potential bidders, giving the firm a chance to stave off administration. Better Capital, led by Jon Moulton, and retail investment specialist OpCapita are thought to be among the firms circling JJB as the sale process gets underway. The sportswear retailer put itself on the [...]
Euro M&A deals slump despite bargain prices September 2, 2012 MERGERS & acquisitions activity in the Eurozone has fallen to its lowest level in two years despite companies getting cheaper to buy, research figures published yesterday show. Data compiled by US valuation company American Appraisal shows there were just 2,037 deals across the Eurozone in the first six months of this year, a 27 per [...]
Morrisons faces fresh woe as half-year sales set for decline September 2, 2012 MORRISONS is this week expected to show it has come under further pressure in the first half of the year as a result of gloomy weather conditions and fiercer competition from rival Asda after the rival’s merger with discounter Netto. Analysts are forecasting that like-for-like sales at the supermarket could be down by 0.7 per [...]
South Africa withdraws murder charges over 34 Lonmin deaths September 2, 2012 SOUTH African prosecutors yesterday decided to provisionally withdraw murder charges against 270 miners who had been accused of killing 34 striking colleagues gunned down by police last month. Public anger had been mounting at the charges, made under an apartheid-era law under which the miners were deemed to have collaborated with “common purpose” in the [...]
A week to save Glenstrata deal September 2, 2012 GLENCORE’S merger with Xstrata looks set to collapse this week after seven months of wrangling – unless the firms can reach a compromise with Qatar and other large shareholders over the terms of the deal. Xstrata investors are expected to vote against the £45bn tie-in at a meeting in the Swiss town of Zug on Friday [...]
Market watchers hoping Draghi intervenes may be disappointed September 2, 2012 THURSDAY’S European Central Bank (ECB) meeting is widely expected to provide details on a new intervention programme. While the ECB’s head Mario Draghi announced a bond-buying programme in August, the market may be setting itself up for another disappointment. There’s a very big chance we’ll have to wait longer to hear the real details of [...]
BDO says no Olympic boost for high street September 2, 2012 RETAILERS’ hopes of an Olympic-boost were dashed last month, a leading survey shows today, after Olympic-inspired purchases failed to make up for depressed sales in fashion and homeware. Figures released today by accountancy firm BDO reveal that like-for-like sales at mid-tier retailers dipped by 0.5 per cent in August. Fashion sales were down 1.3 per [...]
Pay growing for oil & gas execs September 2, 2012 Demand for interim oil & gas executives from the UK from post-Arab Spring governments is driving up pay levels, according to new research from search firm Interim Partners. Demand for experienced executives to help boost energy production has pushed up the average daily rate for interim project engineering directors to £1,500, up from £1,000 a [...]
