Fast growing Quindell adds more contracts to boost profits April 16, 2014 Quindell, the fast growing insurance claims processor, yesterday said a spate of contract wins helped double profits last quarter to £65.9m. The business, which counts RAC and Direct Line as customers, has caught the eye of investors since it listed on the junior stock market due to its rapid business growth. Just two years ago [...]
Weather hits trading at Hunting April 16, 2014 Energy services firm Hunting said yesterday trading in the first quarter had been slower than expected due to adverse weather in North America and project delays in Asia. Hunting said it remained comfortable with its full-year outlook, despite the disappointing first quarter. Hunting said demand in the Gulf of Mexico was strong and construction for [...]
LME loses first stage of appeal April 16, 2014 The London Metal Exchange (LME) yesterday lost the first stage of an effort to appeal against a court ruling which halted a reform aimed at reducing logjams at its global network of warehouses. Last month, the High Court ruled in favour of aluminium producer Rusal, which feared falls in aluminium prices if the LME changed [...]
Irish real estate fund raises €200m April 16, 2014 Irish Residential Property Reit (IRPR) raised €200m (£164m) in a stock market listing yesterday, meeting its target as it became the third such real estate investment trust to launch in Ireland in the last year. US asset manager Franklin Templeton, which made one of the canniest trades in Europe’s debt crisis in buying Irish debt [...]
Blue chip tease: Bankers strip for the Vic April 16, 2014 IT’S THE video they wish we’d never seen. Five top City names took part in a fundraising video for the Young Vic theatre which sees them rip open their shirts and sing at the top of their voices. The clip was made in the summer and screened at a fundraising gala back in October but has [...]
Trio of floats join the main London market April 16, 2014 A TRIO of newly-listed companies joined the main London market yesterday, having raised a total of over £700m in initial public offerings. Cambian, Exova and Polypipe, which began conditional trading last week, had their shares admitted to the premium listing segment of the London Stock Exchange yesterday. Cambian, which runs schools, hospitals and care homes, [...]
City Moves for 17 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs April 16, 2014 KPMG David Brown has been appointed a non-life actuarial partner in KPMG’s insurance practice. With almost 20 years’ actuarial experience, he joins from Direct Line Group, and will advise clients in the retail general insurance sector. Brown is also a fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. BNP Paribas Investment Partners Cynthia Sweeney Barnes [...]
Share slump for Snoozebox as its losses grow April 16, 2014 SHARES in Snoozebox fell out of bed yesterday after the portable hotel provider said it was raising a further £11m as its annual pre-tax losses doubled. The Aim-listed firm said that while turnover rose 80 per cent to £6.7m and margins improved in 2013, the cost of growing the business had sent losses to £9.4m. [...]
Eagle Eye jumps on float and closes its £4.5m 2ergo takeover April 16, 2014 RETAIL and hospitality voucher firm Eagle Eye Solutions, where former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy is an investor and director, saw its shares jump almost 10 per cent to 180p during its first day of trading yesterday. Eagle Eye raised £6m from its oversubscribed placing on London’s Alternative Investment Market, hitting a £36m valuation. “Today’s [...]
Xaar confident of full year target April 16, 2014 Printing technology group Xaar is confident of achieving its full year expectations despite a slight dip in its operating margin compared to last year. The Cambridge-based firm reported more stable profits and sales that were in line with the board’s expectations during the first quarter of 2014 after a profit spike in the first few [...]
