John Lewis awards £94m online contact centre contract to Capita March 17, 2014 OUTSOURCING firm Capita yesterday said it has been selected by John Lewis to provide its online contact centre, as the department store chain looks to expand its digital presence. Under the agreement, which is worth £93.5m over five years, the FTSE 100-quoted firm will deliver a service that integrates with John Lewis’ existing range of [...]
Royal Mail wins work with 14 London boroughs March 17, 2014 ROYAL Mail has seen off competition from two other postal companies to sign a two-year deal to deliver council documents for nearly half of London’s boroughs, the firm confirmed yesterday. The postal group, which was part-privatised in a stock market float in October, has provided the service for several boroughs previously, but the new contract [...]
Pennon jumps as South West Water accepts Ofwat guidance March 17, 2014 PENNON’S share price jumped yesterday, after its water company subsidiary South West Water agreed to regulator Ofwat’s guidance in order to fast-track its business plan for the next five years. Morgan Stanley-backed Affinity Water, which supplies water to parts of central England, Essex and Greater London, also accepted the risk and reward guidance. Ofwat had [...]
Fastnet starts drilling off Morocco March 17, 2014 Fastnet Oil & Gas, the Aim-listed energy explorer focused on Africa and Ireland, yesterday said that drilling off the coast of Morocco has started on schedule. The well is the first of a two-well programme. “The results from the…well will allow us to further evaluate and potentially de-risk the varied and near-term drilling targets in [...]
Rusal partners with Israel’s Omen March 17, 2014 Moscow-headquartered global aluminium producer UC Rusal yesterday said it has agreed to a joint venture with Israeli company Omen High Pressure Die Casting called VolkhOR, which will produce automotive parts from non-ferrous metals. Each party will invest $1m (£601,000) in the project and secure external financing to cover the rest. It is estimated that $20.6m [...]
Bunzl buys Brazilian firm Lamedid March 17, 2014 FTSE 100-quoted distribution and outsourcing group Bunzl yesterday said it has acquired Lamedid, a Brazilian company that distributes medical consumable products to hospitals and laboratories. Lamedid reported revenues of £12m in 2013. “The purchase of Lamedid has significantly increased the size of our healthcare business in Brazil, having entered the healthcare sector there with the [...]
City Moves for 18 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 17, 2014 Management Consultancies Association Chris Cooper has been elected president of the Management Consultancies Association. He is currently head of Challenge Consulting. Cooper has previously held positions at BDO and OASiS. Nikko Asset Management The asset management firm has announced the appointment of Al Clark as global head of multi-asset. Clark has over 20 years’ experience [...]
Best of the Brokers for 18 March 2014 March 17, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MICRO FOCUS Barclays upgraded Micro Focus from “equal weight” to “overweight” yesterday with a raised target price of 900p (from 800p). The broker expects that Micro Focus is soon to return to organic growth of up to five per cent now that its [...]
London Report: Building boost helps FTSE snap its losing streak March 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index snapped its longest losing streak in two and a half years yesterday as the building sector surged on a government plan to pump more cash into a scheme to boost construction. Persimmon was among top FTSE gainers, rising 3.7 per cent after chancellor George Osborne said on Sunday he would extend [...]
New York Report: US stocks rise as tensions in Crimea ease March 17, 2014 US STOCKS climbed yesterday, with the S&P 500 bouncing from its worst weekly drop in the past seven, as concerns eased over the situation in Crimea, while economic data indicated the economy was improving after a winter slowdown. The 97 per cent vote in Crimea in favour of quitting Ukraine was condemned as illegal by [...]
