Equity funds push onwards March 31, 2014 Equity funds continued to dominate fund sales last month, proving the most popular type of investment for eleventh consecutive month. Figures from the Investment Management Association show net retail sales for equity funds of £681m in February, with UK equity funds the biggest seller. Property, fixed income and absolute return funds also had a strong [...]
Tulchan and Rothschild March 31, 2014 The financial public relations group Tulchan has teamed up with the advisory banking group Rothschild to create a joint venture that will own Investor Perceptions, a provider of investor perception surveys and shareholder audits. Tulchan first invested in the group in 2010.
Capita reports on strong year March 31, 2014 Outsourcing group Capita yesterday reported strong sales for 2013, with revenue up 15 per cent to £3.85bn and underlying profit before tax up 14 per cent to £475m. Remuneration figures show Paul Pindar, who retired as chief executive in February, earned £65,000 for the first part of this year. New chief executive Andy Parker is [...]
Mick the miner raises $3.75bn for new deals March 31, 2014 THE FORMER boss of mining giant Xstrata is back on the acquisition trial after raising up to $3.75bn (£2.25bn) from five institutional investors. Mick Davis, dubbed Mick the Miner for his successful mining exploits, has raised the money through his X2 Resources company vehicle, which will use the money to invest in various metal and [...]
Vodafone payments come to EU March 31, 2014 Vodafone-developed mobile payment service M-Pesa launched in Romania yesterday as part of Vodafone’s plan to bring mobile payments to Europe. M-Pesa is based on text messaging and is widely used in Africa where bank accounts are not widespread. Vodafone Romania’s customers will be able to pay utility bills, make a deposit and withdraw cash from [...]
Rolls Royce bags $50m US contract March 31, 2014 Rolls Royce has won a contract worth more than $50m (£30m) to support the US Marines Corps fleet of KC-130J air-to-air refuelling tankers, it said yesterday. The one-year deal covers sustainment services for over 200 Rolls Royce AE 2100 engines, as well as propellers and other system repairs for the fleet. It will also see [...]
Carillion lands hospital deal March 31, 2014 Support services firm Carillion has been chosen as the preferred bidder for a £200m support services contract by Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust. The trust is one of the largest in the country and includes Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital. The initial contract is for a five-year period, with an option for [...]
City Moves for 01 April 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 31, 2014 Hammerson The retail property company has announced the appointment of Sophie Ross as head of multichannel. She joins from Home Retail Group, where she held multichannel and marketing roles. HSBC Global Asset Management The asset management business has made two senior appointments to its equity product team. Nacho Font joins from DIAM International, where he was a [...]
Best of the Brokers for 01 April 2014 March 31, 2014 XAAR UBS keeps its “neutral” rating and pares back its price target from 1,150p to 950p. The broker sees a more competitive ceramics market ahead, though new product launches could shore up the company’s long-term investment case. DARTY N+1 Singer has upgraded the retailer to “buy” and lifted its target price by four per cent [...]
London Report: FTSE records its first quarterly drop since June March 31, 2014 BABCOCK was the star performer among Britain’s top shares yesterday as a nuclear contract win helped it outperform a lacklustre showing on the broader blue-chip index, which suffered its first quarterly drop since June. The FTSE 100 ended down 17.21 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 6,598.37 points, after a see-saw session which saw it [...]
