Pace director back from sail race March 13, 2014 Set-top box maker Pace has rehired Mike Inglis as a non-executive director, a year after he stepped down to take part in the Clipper Round the World yacht race. Inglis, who served on the Pace board from 2008 to 2013, also left his post as chief commercial officer of Arm Holdings last year as he [...]
Peel Hunt hires dealmaker Haxby March 13, 2014 Peel Hunt has hired City dealmaker Adrian Haxby as a director in its corporate business. Haxby, who left his post as head of European investment banking at Canaccord Genuity last summer, will join the broking and advisory house next month. He previously worked for UBS as head of its UK mid-market group. Haxby said of [...]
Digital growth failing to stem Trinity’s losses March 13, 2014 TRINITY Mirror, publisher of the Daily Mirror and more than 100 regional titles, saw its shares slide yesterday after reporting its sixth straight year of declining revenues due to weakness in the firm’s print operations. Trinity swung to a loss of £160.8m during the 12 months to 29 December as it absorbed a £225m writedown [...]
Vectura taps market for £52m to help snap up asthma specialist March 13, 2014 RESPIRATORY drug company Vectura raised £52m yesterday to fund the purchase of a German asthma expert, making it the latest in a line of British biotech firms to tap the markets in recent months. Vectura, which makes inhalers to treat respiratory diseases, is spending a total of £109m to take over nebuliser specialist Activaero in [...]
Lufthansa’s revamp pays off as earnings jump and divi returns March 13, 2014 GERMAN airline Lufthansa posted a 62 per cent jump in underlying operating profits for the year as it gets on with a restructuring drive. Lufthansa said that excluding costs linked to the turnaround efforts, it made operating profits of €1.04bn (£833m), on flat revenues of €30bn. The results were improved by a change to the [...]
Vimto owner sweetens sales March 13, 2014 Vimto owner Nichols yesterday posted a 10 per cent rise in full year pre-tax profits to £22.5m as new product launches bolstered sales and efforts to grow margins paid off. Total sales grew two per cent to £109.9m in 2013 and accelerated in the second half, up four per cent. Fizzy drink sales fell six [...]
Yo Sushi to expand in London March 13, 2014 Japanese restaurant chain Yo Sushi is poised to open five new sites in London this year after ten years of expansion outside the capital in cities such as Manchester and Leeds. The group, which currently has 62 UK restaurants including 24 in London, said yesterday it has bought sites in travel hubs and locations with [...]
Positive outlook for Quindell March 13, 2014 Software consultancy Quindell has reported strong first quarter trading, announcing yesterday that it has already met targets and exceeded expectations ahead of its annual results which are out at the end of March. The company, which largely caters to the insurance industry, has exceeded its £450m target for new business since the start of 2014. [...]
City Moves for 14 March 2014 | Who’s switching jobs March 13, 2014 Ashcourt Rowan The asset management firm has hired Chris Legge as head of intermediary services. He was most recently at Brewin Dolphin, where he was intermediary business development manager. Prior to that, Legge held roles at Gerrard Investment Management. KPMG The professional services firm has announced two appointments. Navdeep Arora will lead its insurance strategy [...]
Best of the Brokers for 14 March 2014 March 13, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com RESTAURANT GROUP Barclays rates the dining firm “overweight” and has lifted its target from 675p to 750p to reflect what the broker reckons is an attractive free cash flow yield. Barclays believes the firm will be back at its margin peaks in the [...]
