Hoodless investors give go-ahead to Astaire deal March 31, 2010 ASTAIRE, the fast-growing City stockbroker led by small-cap broking veteran Edward Vandyk, has virtually sealed its takeover offer for Hoodless Brennan after the majority of shareholders gave the deal the stamp of approval. Astaire has received acceptances from investors representing just over 80 per cent of Hoodless shares, with the offer set to close in [...]
DAIRY CREST MILKS IT March 31, 2010 DAIRY Crest said its full-year pretax profit was ahead of the prior year, helped by investment in its brands and cost cuts, and it was comfortable with market forecasts for the year. The company said it reduced its borrowings by £140m, or nearly 30 per cent, over the past 18 months. The company, who uses [...]
Swiss to hand over UBS data March 31, 2010 The Swiss government said yesterday it would continue to process information on US client accounts from UBS in the run-up to a parliamentary vote on a deal to end a high-profile US legal case against the bank. The government wants parliament to override a Swiss court decision that prevents it from honouring an agreement struck [...]
United Utilities signs £30m deal March 31, 2010 United Utilities yesterday signed a £30m, five year deal with Cable & Wireless Worldwide to provide converged voice and data network services to its 300 UK sites including data centres, water works and two key contact centres.
Carluccio’s sees profits drop March 31, 2010 Restaurant group Carluccio’s has seen profits before tax for 2009 drop to £4.7m from £5.6m, after the company faced a challenging year. Revenue climbed by eight per cent to £69m from £64m it posted the year before. During the year Carluccio’s opened 44 new stores across the UK, up from the 38 stores it opened [...]
Compass sees a strong 2010 as sales surge March 31, 2010 COMPASS Group, the world’s biggest caterer, reported an upturn in trading as new business wins showed its recession-proof credentials, pushing its shares to their highest level in almost nine years. The group, which feeds office workers, soldiers and school children, said organic revenue grew 1.5 per cent in the quarter to 31 March compared with [...]
Drought of small firms listing could cost jobs March 31, 2010 QUOTED companies outside London’s FTSE 350 have rarely faced such challenging times. Equity markets are fragmenting while regulations are increasingly onerous and markets illiquid, making it harder to raise capital. But help could be on hand from an unlikely source. A French initiative has produced 20 recommendations to improve capital markets for the small to [...]
EU is pushed to act on iron ore prices March 31, 2010 EUROPEAN steel industry body Eurofer urged European Union regulators to prevent unfair competition and excessive pricing of iron ore yesterday, saying it could hamper economic recovery in Europe. Eurofer said market concentration by three companies controlling almost three quarters of the world market had resulted in unbalanced pricing power and a high degree of market [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS March 31, 2010 ERICSSON Evolution Securities advises investors to “sell” Ericsson because the mobile company’s pricing power is limited by operators. Evolution points out that consolidation has not stemmed industry price pressure and the knock-on effects limit revenue leaving Ericsson trading on what it considers an unjustified premium. ABCAM Investec ups Abcam’s target to 1,350p from 1,051p and [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS March 31, 2010 RBC Wealth Management The wealth manager, part of the Royal Bank of Canada, has appointed Sarah Macdonald as a director, focusing on UK entrepreneurial clients. Macdonald has worked for over a decade in the financial services industry at both Barclays Wealth and Morgan Stanley. She specialises in advising high net worth clients on asset management [...]
