Pawnbroker Albemarle & Bond hopes for end to debt concerns October 30, 2013 PAWNBROKER Albemarle & Bond has avoided the prospect of having to sell its prized assets after agreeing a new deal with its bankers, it was announced yesterday. Rather than the flog the family silver, the company and its lenders agreed to postpone a financial stress test until February. This is the second time it has been delayed [...]
Insurer Gable to raise £10m October 30, 2013 British insurance firm Gable Holdings has conditionally raised £10.7m through a share issue, the first since it listed on Aim in 2005. The non-life insurer wants to use the cash to expand the business and says it was pleased by strong interest in the issue. Gable recorded pre-tax profits of £5.7m in 2012. Barrie Cornes, [...]
Abraaj unit hires IPO banks October 30, 2013 Stanford Marine Group, part of emerging markets-focused private equity firm Abraaj Group, has hired banks to help arrange a stock market listing in London, as regional private equity firms tap overseas stock markets to exit investments. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs have been picked to arrange the listing of the oil and gas services firm, [...]
Ukraine teams up with Chevron October 30, 2013 Ukraine said yesterday it will sign a $10bn shale gas production-sharing agreement with US energy major Chevron next week – its second such deal this year. Ecology minister Oleh Proskuryakov said the deal for exploration and extraction at the Olesska site in western Ukraine, which follows one signed with Royal Dutch Shell earlier this year, [...]
Britons are creatures of habit when doing shopping online October 30, 2013 SHOPPERS tend to buy on their mobiles when they wake up and browse on tablets after work during ad breaks while watching TV, according to figures by John Lewis, with nearly two-thirds of customers now shopping both in store and online. The department store group has released a report today that analyses the nation’s shopping [...]
Retired teachers take over Busy Bees nurseries October 30, 2013 BUSY Bees Nursery Group has been sold to a Canadian pension fund for an undisclosed sum, the childcare chain confirmed yesterday. Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan had offered a reported £220m for the company, which operates 213 nurseries across the UK. The companies declined to comment on how much money changed hands. The fund beat a [...]
Nintendo turns slight profit yet latest console sales disappoint October 30, 2013 VIDEO games company Nintendo reported slightly improved results yesterday as the firm managed to turn a modest profit in the six months to 30 September. The company turned an improved profit of ¥600m (£3.8m), up from its loss of ¥28bn during the same period last year, but revenues fell to ¥196.5bn. Nintendo last month dropped [...]
GM profit up on good US demand and improvement across Europe October 30, 2013 GENERAL Motors posted better-than-expected third-quarter profit yesterday as the US carmaker’s new lineup of pickup trucks and other revamped models boosted North American results, and revenue rose in Europe for the first time in two years. The strong showing in North and South America and the improvement in Europe offset the decline in Asian markets [...]
Volkswagen income rises after record sales of luxury brands October 30, 2013 VOLKSWAGEN said yesterday third-quarter operating profit rose by a fifth on the back of record sales at premium brands Audi and Porsche, keeping the carmaker on track to meet full-year targets. Operating profit at Europe’s largest automotive group rose to €2.78bn (£2.3bn) from €2.32bn a year ago. VW reaffirmed goals to match last year’s record [...]
African Barrick raises full-year output target October 30, 2013 AFRICAN Barrick Gold (ABG) shot to the top of the FTSE 250 leaderboard yesterday, after the miner said it expects to beat full-year production targets and is on track with its cost-cutting strategy. The firm posted an 11 per cent increase in third-quarter gold output compared to the same quarter in 2012, with cash costs [...]
