Chairman and chief executive of N Brown exit July 3, 2012 N BROWN announced yesterday that both its long-standing chairman, Lord Alliance of Manchester and chief executive Alan White will be retiring from the catalogue and online shopping group. Lord Alliance, the Liberal Democrat peer and the founder of textile company Coats, said the retailer “had come a long way” since he bought the Manchester-based mail [...]
St Modwen says net asset value lifted by housebuilder demand July 3, 2012 REGENERATION SPECIALIST St Modwen yesterday said that a strong appetite for new homes, particularly in London and the South East, helped lift its net asset value (NAV) in the first half of the year. Chief executive Bill Oliver said despite the on-going challenges in the economy it had delivered “a strong set of first half [...]
Vodafone gets green light for CWW deal July 3, 2012 VODAFONE yesterday won approval from the European Commission for its £1bn takeover of Cable & Wireless Worldwide. Five weeks after the deal was submitted to Brussels for approval, the Commission ruled that the merger of the companies would not lead to any antitrust issues. “The Commission concluded that the transaction would raise no competition concerns, as [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF ST MODWEN’S PERFORMANCE? July 3, 2012 KEITH CRAWFORD PEEL HUNT The result was supported by planning gains on residential land, as achieved in prior years. With the shares still trading on a significant 33 per cent prospective NAV discount, despite a long series of positive newsflow, we reiterate our “buy” recommendation on expectations of outperformance. CONOR FINN LIBERUM CAPITAL An encouraging [...]
Czech brewer Budvar victorious in battle over Budweiser name July 3, 2012 A BOHEMIAN brewer located in the original town of Budweiser beer yesterday won a case to be allowed to continue using the brand name in the UK. The Czech company, Budejovicky Budvar, has been fighting off a legal challenge by global brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, which produces the more well-known Budweiser – a beer that [...]
Rexam cans personal care arm and returns cash to investors July 3, 2012 BRITISH drinks can maker Rexam yesterday said it had agreed to sell its underperforming personal care business in two parts for $709m (£451.9m) in cash and return about £370m of the proceeds to investors. Private equity firm Sun Capital Partners had agreed to buy the cosmetics, toiletries and household care division for $459m, Rexam said, while [...]
Persimmon in house sale lift July 3, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon said yesterday it had made an excellent start to its new strategic plan by completing more new homes, attracting more viewers and selling them for a higher fee, giving it confidence for the full year. The group followed other property developers by saying that market conditions had been relatively stable despite sentiment being [...]
WPP expands Brazilian presence July 3, 2012 WPP-owned subsidiary Ogilvy & Mather yesterday unveiled the purchase of a majority stake in Foster, a Brazilian digital agency. Ogilvy acquired 70 per cent of the 19 year old company, whose clients include Metro, Danone and Goodyear. Foster, which generated revenues of R$5m (£1.6m) last year, will contribute to WPP’s Brazil-based revenues of $800m (£510m) [...]
Anite’s profits jump 75 per cent July 3, 2012 Software company Anite boosted its dividend yesterday after an “exceptional year” in which pre-tax profits climbed 75 per cent to £28m. The final dividend was increased by 53 per cent as revenues jumped by almost a third to £122.5m and earnings per share almost doubled to 6.5p. The London-listed company said all three of its [...]
Real good food gets sugar rush July 3, 2012 Sugar producer the Real Good Food Company said yesterday that a robust performance from Renshaw and Garrett Ingredients helped lift earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation by 62 per cent to £9.1m in the year to December. The firm, which is moving its reference date from 31 December to 31 March, posted sales of [...]
