Land Securities sells RBS offices on the South Bank for £315m October 10, 2013 LAND SECURITIES has sold Royal Bank of Scotland’s flagship offices on the South Bank to M&G Real Estate in a £315m deal. The FTSE 100 landlord said yesterday it has exchanged contracts to sell Bankside 2&3, which are let to the bank until 2027. The 380,000 square feet offices, which sit next to the Tate [...]
Sales surge for JLR and Bentley October 10, 2013 BENTLEY has enjoyed soaring sales in America and Europe this year, but its market in China has suffered a 17 per cent dip in deliveries as buyers awaited the new Flying Spur model. The Volkswagen-owned luxury car group sold 6,516 cars worldwide in the first nine months of 2013, up 9.2 per cent on last [...]
Analyst Views: Were WH Smith’s results in line with your expectations? October 10, 2013 RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN BANK OF AMERICA “WH Smith has reported a profit before tax of £108m for the year to 31 August in line with our estimate and slightly ahead of consensus of £107m. Earnings per share was up 15 per cent and the final dividend of 21.3p was also up 15 per cent, giving a [...]
Wages in public sector still beat private sector October 10, 2013 A NEW report published today reveals the gulf in wages between the public and private sectors, with government workers in some regions earning thousands more than their private counterparts every year. Despite the public sector pay freeze, think tank Policy Exchange says its calculations show that public sector salaries still outstrip their private sector equivalents [...]
Relief for landlords as Clegg blocks plan to start immigration checks October 10, 2013 MOST landlords will not be held responsible for checking whether their tenants are legally allowed to reside in the UK, it was confirmed yesterday, after Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg blocked the plan. Conservative home secretary Theresa May had hoped to introduce the scheme next year but it will now only go ahead in one pilot area, [...]
Good weather helps UK tourism rebound after Olympic slump October 10, 2013 TOURIST and business visits to the UK boomed in the year to August, official figures yesterday showed, helped by the rebound from the Olympics in 2012, when visitors stayed away. In August alone, visitor numbers were up 16 per cent on the same month in 2012, at 3.5m. For the 12 months to August, visitor [...]
Melrose sells off two US firms to KKR for £630m October 10, 2013 ENGINEERING turnaround specialist Melrose Industries yesterday said it has agreed to sell lifting equipment company The Crosby Group and material handling equipment maker Acco Material Handling Solutions to private equity powerhouse KKR for approximately $1bn (£630m). The deal value is at the top of the expected range and is payable in cash on completion. The [...]
GKN swipes Informa’s finance director to replace Bill Seeger October 10, 2013 FTSE 100 engineering giant GKN yesterday said that its group finance director Bill Seeger will step down, to be replaced by Informa’s Adam Walker. Seeger leaves after more than six years in the role and 10 years at GKN. He will step down from the board on 25 February next year and will depart the [...]
Gulf Keystone restarts halted production at field in Kurdistan October 10, 2013 OIL AND gas explorer Gulf Keystone yesterday said it has restarted production at its Shaikan oil field, after receiving approval from the Kurdistan government. The Aim-listed firm is aiming for production in the Kurdistan field to reach 40,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) by the end of the year. “Gulf Keystone has restarted the [...]
Investors cheer as Dixons pays €25m to solve Italian problem October 10, 2013 DIXONS Retail, Europe’s second-biggest electrical goods retailer, yesterday agreed to pay €25m (£21m) to merge its loss-making UniEuro business in Italy with a firm controlled by private equity group Rhone Capital. Dixons’ plan is to focus on markets where it has a leading position and combined stores and internet business, such as the UK, Nordics [...]
