Galliford wins £41m contract February 17, 2014 Galliford Try said yesterday that its building arm has been appointed as the preferred bidder for a £41m contract to build 200 homes in south west London. Galliford’s housebuilding arm Linden Homes and the Thames Valley Housing Association are developing Westfield House site in Earlsfield through their joint venture Opal Land. The scheme will provide [...]
Lok’n’Store hails buoyant first half February 17, 2014 Self-storage group Lok’n’Store said the improving economy and steps taken to protect itself during the downturn had helped it deliver a “buoyant” set of results in the first half of the year. The Aim-listed group, which has 23 stores across the country, said like-for-like sales were up 7.8 per cent in the first half to [...]
Telecom Plus boosts dividend February 17, 2014 Utility services company Telecom Plus has announced plans to increase its dividend for the year by 13 per cent to 35p per share following an impressive trading statement. The company, which trades as Utility Warehouse, said the number of customers increased from 449,502 to over 513,000 representing a year on year growth of 14 per [...]
Italy slaps fines on airlines over travel insurance February 17, 2014 RYANAIR and EasyJet have been fined more than €1m for not being clear enough about the travel insurance they sell to Italian customers alongside flight bookings. Italy’s competition authority has imposed an €850,000 (£697,000) penalty on Ryanair and a €200,000 fine for EasyJet for “unfair commercial practices”. The low-cost airlines failed to tell customers about [...]
H&M shrugs off January blues with double-digit sales growth February 17, 2014 HENNES & Mauritz, the world’s second largest retailer, said yesterday that total sales accelerated in January, rising 15 per cent compared with the same time last year. The Swedish clothing giant, which competes with its bigger rival Zara-owner Inditex, said this was in line with its forecasts and compared with a 10 per cent rise [...]
Capita wins a £325m contract to connect Scottish public services February 17, 2014 OUTSOURCING firm Capita has won a £325m contract to deliver a single shared network for Scotland’s public services. Under the contract, which is for nine years, Capita will connect more than 4,600 sites, including schools, hospitals, GP surgeries, pharmacists and local council offices. The Scottish Wide Area Network (Swan) is aimed at reducing costs, improving [...]
Aviva Investors offloads stake in Dublin’s Liffey Valley for €250m February 17, 2014 AVIVA Investors has sold its majority stake in a Dublin mall in a deal worth over €250m (£205m), it announced yesterday, in the latest sign of a resurgent Irish property market. The firm, which developed the Liffey Valley site 15 years ago, had looked to exit its 72.8 per cent holding in 2011 but scrapped [...]
City Moves for 18 February 2014 | Who’s switching jobs February 17, 2014 Morrison & Foerster The law firm has announced the appointment of Philip Slater as a partner in its financial transactions group. He joins from Reed Smith, where he led its acquisition and leveraged finance practice in London. Prior to that, Slater was a partner at Addleshaw Goddard. Santander Corporate & Commercial Charles Garfit has been appointed head [...]
Best of the Brokers for 18 February 2014 February 17, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ANGLO AMERICAN UBS keeps its “buy” rating on the mining firm and has boosted its target from 1,580p to 1,650p after forecast-beating results. The broker is impressed by Anglo’s cost-cutting efforts and thinks rising diamond prices could boost earnings further. GALLIFORD TRY Panmure [...]
London Report: Hammerson top FTSE riser after positive results February 17, 2014 BRITAIN’S top shares extended a two-week rally yesterday, with stocks that are sensitive to optimism over the economy receiving a boost from signs of growth both domestically and abroad. A string of positives from Hammerson’s results helped its shares rise 3.1 per cent to their highest level since 2008, with the shopping centre landlord benefiting [...]
