McCarthy & Stone seals refinancing August 20, 2013 McCarthy & Stone, the retirement home developer, said yesterday it has completed the restructuring of £518.9m, helping to cut its debt burden by £350m. The group said 24 investors injected £367m into the business as part of the deal and refinanced a further £160m with a new five-year term loan facility. A core group of [...]
September start for new BT chief August 20, 2013 BT’s incoming chief executive Gavin Patterson will formally take up the role on 10 September, the telecoms giant confirmed yesterday. Patterson, who heads the group’s retail business, will replace Ian Livingston, who is stepping down after five years to take a role in government as minister of state for trade and investment.
Wood Group hit by uncertainty in Canadian oil August 20, 2013 ENERGY services company John Wood Group said yesterday it expects weakening Canadian demand to restrict earnings growth for its oil and gas engineering division this year and into 2014, sending its shares sharply lower. The firm has been a strong performer in the European oil services sector while others have suffered from project delays this [...]
Cairn outlines ambitious drilling plans after Greenland campaign August 20, 2013 BRITAIN’S Cairn Energy has said that new exploration in north west Africa and Ireland, with drilling due to start in weeks, is more likely to succeed than in Greenland, where it has spent $1.2bn (£766m) without finding oil. After its primary focus on Greenland in 2010 and 2011, the company has spent the past 18 [...]
Strong demand sends sales at Lindt jumping August 20, 2013 SWISS chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli saw sales rise by 8.7 per cent in the first half of the year, as consumers across Europe turned to comfort food during the miserable wet winter months. Greater consumption of golden bunnies and Lindor balls across Europe resulted in an lift to organic sales to 5.8 per cent [...]
Symphony strikes the right note August 20, 2013 Symphony International, the FTSE listed owner of Asian consumer brands, yesterday reported a 11 per cent increase in the value of its investment portfolio. The company, which owns a variety of assets including hospitals, hotels, and restaurants brands, said its net asset value increased despite more volatility in Asian markets. Pre-tax profits at Symphony increased [...]
US firm makes approach for Fiberweb August 20, 2013 Fiberweb, a manufacturer of industrial and construction metals, said yesterday it has received a takeover proposal from Polymer Group, which has been given until 17 September to formalise a bid or walk away. Fiberweb said Polymer’s proposal is for 97.5p a share in cash plus the interim dividend of 1.2p a share, announced 2 August [...]
Royal London profits double August 20, 2013 Pensions and life insurance giant Royal London yesterday announced an impressive 105 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £226m for the first six months of 2013. The mutual, which recently bought the Co-op’s life insurance arm for £219m, said it had benefited from the introduction of new rules that ban the payment of commission [...]
Who will get all the wonga in Damelin split? August 20, 2013 BOSS of payday loan company Wonga Errol Damelin has split up with his Julie, the mother of the couple’s three young children. Wonga refused to comment on the split last night but the couple’s law firm Lewis Silkin confirmed: “It is with sadness that Errol and Julie Damelin announce they are to separate amicably.” The couple’s [...]
Geeky Marissa Mayer glams up for photoshoot in US Vogue August 20, 2013 YAHOO boss and self-labelled nerd Marissa Mayer has done a very un-geeky photoshoot for the September issue of US Vogue magazine, which came out yesterday. Mayer has been at the helm of the internet giant for just over a year, but still describes herself as “geeky and shy” and says “I like to code” in an [...]
