John Laing Infrastructure on top November 12, 2013 A strong bout of acquisitions helped John Laing Infrastructure Fund (JLIF) record strong growth in the six months ending September, results showed yesterday. The value of its portfolio rose £164.5m to £701.9m due to a spate of buys by the fund over the period, including boosting its stake in London transport’s radio communications network CityLink. [...]
3i inks Barclays deal November 12, 2013 The UK’s oldest private equity fund 3i yesterday said it had finally completed a deal to buy Barclays infrastructure arm. Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management, which includes 22 staff, will be renamed 3i BIFM and merged into 3i’s existing infrastructure offering. The deal was originally announced in May. The Barclays arm currently has assets under management [...]
Admiral vehicle count rises in its third quarter November 12, 2013 MOTOR insurer Admiral Group said yesterday that the number of vehicles on its books increased three per cent in the third quarter of 2013. In a trading statement, Admiral’s chief executive Henry Engelhardt said the group vehicle count of 3.64m was lifted by expansion outside its core UK market. The international vehicle count rose by [...]
Catlin on track as premiums grow outside London and UK November 12, 2013 BERMUDA-based reinsurer Catlin said yesterday it had made good progress in its third quarter, as it saw an eight per cent rise in gross premiums written. Catlin saw most of the increases outside of its London and UK hubs, with 55 per cent of premiums now being written by its non-London and UK underwriters. Gross [...]
Slowing death rate pulls back Dignity growth November 12, 2013 A FALL in the number of people dying meant a slowdown in profit growth at the UK’s only listed undertaker Dignity last quarter, results showed yesterday. The UK’s death rate fell three per cent in the three months ending September, after a shock six per cent surge in deaths for the January to June period [...]
Sage Group picks new finance chief after three month vacancy November 12, 2013 SOFTWARE company Sage Group has appointed Steve Hare as its new finance chief (CFO), a role that has been covered by acting finance chief Darren Fisher after the company’s last executive left to join WANdisco in August. “Steve brings considerable finance and business expertise developed with global companies, augmented by operational experience gained with private [...]
Caravan park operator sold by private equity owners for £170m November 12, 2013 THE SOUTH east’s largest operator of caravan parks, Park Holidays, was sold by its private equity backers yesterday to London-listed fund Caledonia Investments. Graphite Capital, which owns London’s Hawksmoor restaurant chain, sold the company for £172m, after overseeing it for seven years following a purchase in 2006. The deal is notable because Caledonia’s buy is [...]
Cobham warns sales will fall short next year November 12, 2013 DEFENCE and aerospace supplier Cobham yesterday cut its sales forecast for 2014, becoming the latest company to warn shareholders over the impact of US budget cuts. Cobham said the US, which is cutting $37bn from its defence spending this year in a bid to cut the deficit, remains a “highly uncertain” market, which has been [...]
Essar partners with Hydrodec to expand the Stanlow oil refinery November 12, 2013 ESSAR Energy has signed a joint venture with Hydrodec to expand the Stanlow complex in Cheshire, the UK’s second largest oil refinery. Under the agreement which was announced yesterday, India-focused oil giant Essar will use technology developed by Aim-listed industrial oil refining company Hydrodec to turn Stanlow into “the leading European oil re-refining centre”. Re-refining [...]
Blood transfusion sale set to give Novartis a £1bn shot in the arm November 12, 2013 SWISS healthcare group Novartis has agreed to sell its blood transfusion testing unit to Spain’s Grifols for $1.68bn (£1.05bn), in an increasingly buoyant market for deals in the sector. The sale comes as Novartis carries out a broad review of operations following the departure of veteran chairman and one-time chief executive Daniel Vasella, the architect [...]
