Flotations jump three-fold as Europe takes off April 8, 2014 FLOTATIONS on Europe’s stock markets in the first quarter of this year raised more money than floats in the same period of the last five years combined, PwC data showed today. Increasing confidence in the economic recovery is behind the boom, and the UK is in the lead – 32 of the 68 floats were [...]
Tchenguiz brothers plan next step in dispute with fraud office April 8, 2014 THE TCHENGUIZ brothers will on Friday apply to bring in a criminal barrister to explore whether the Serious Fraud Office or Grant Thornton committed a criminal offence, following the disclosure of documents relating to their arrests three years ago. A case management conference has been taking place over the course of this week ahead of [...]
London is home to a quarter of mortgage debt April 8, 2014 ONE IN every four pounds of outstanding mortgage debt in Great Britain is tied to a house in London, figures out yesterday showed, in the latest sign of the capital’s dominance of the housing market. Data put together by the Council of Mortgage Lenders showed the 20 most-mortgaged postcodes are all in London, as well [...]
French Prime Minister lays out tax cuts despite deficit worries April 8, 2014 THE NEW Prime Minister of France, Manuel Valls, yesterday gained approval from the country’s parliament for a raft of tax cuts. France’s “responsibility pact” is to include a cut in social security contributions for low earners from next year, along with an income tax discount for low-paid households. Dominique Barbet of BNP Paribas said that [...]
Eat makes loss after splashing out on new look April 8, 2014 THE BOSS of Eat has said it is on the road to recovery and that efforts to spruce up its estate are paying off despite falling to a loss last year. The sandwich, soup and salad chain, founded 15 years ago by former hedge fund manager Niall MacArthur, fell to a £521,567 loss in the [...]
Breedon eyes up UK assets freed in Lafarge-Holcim mega merger April 8, 2014 BREEDON Aggregates said yesterday that it would be interested in UK assets sold as part of the Lafarge Holcim merger. The world’s two largest cement companies, France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim, confirmed the “merger of equals” on Monday, which will create a cement giant with sales of €32bn (£26.5bn). The firms are planning £4bn of [...]
Currency shock derails Hornby profits April 8, 2014 MODEL train maker Hornby has lost £200,000 from foreign exchange movements since January and expects to post a loss for the financial year. Hornby has said it is set to report £1.2m in annual losses, though its underlying business is managing to break even. The group warned in January that its profits would fall short [...]
McColl’s sales rise following IPO April 8, 2014 McColl’s posted strong sales yesterday and said it is pushing ahead with new store openings as it published its first update since listing on the London Stock Exchange last month. The retailer, which owns 1,279 newsagents and convenience stores, said total sales rose three per cent in the 19 weeks to 6 April while stores [...]
Premier Foods completes rights issue April 8, 2014 Premier Foods said yesterday that it had completed the rights issue portion of its recent capital restructuring, with investors taking up 96 per cent of the shares offered. The owner of Bisto gravy and Mr Kipling cakes, announced it had secured a £1.1bn refinancing package that included raising £353m via a placing and a rights [...]
KPMG teams up with capital platform April 8, 2014 Accounting group KPMG has teamed up with a company that helps smaller companies get paid more quickly. C2FO, an online marketplace for working capital, will spend three years working with KPMG to attract more British firms to its platform. “I believe this will prove a really interesting addition to the increasingly diverse mix of funding [...]
