Dairy Crest finds the right baby formula as project nears finish line July 14, 2015 Dairy Crest said yesterday that is was near to completing a project to make two crucial ingredients found in baby formula that it seeks to sell into the £7bn Chinese market. The Cathedral cheese-maker struck a deal with New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra last year to sell whey – the key ingredient in baby formula [...]
Derwent London buys back 1 Oxford Street as part of Crossrail agreement July 14, 2015 Derwent London has signed a new 150-year lease agreement with Crossrail on a £400m office and shopping development above Tottenham Court Road station. The developer is effectively buying back the site at 1 Oxford Street after having to surrender it in 2009 to Crossrail. Derwent will receive £55m on completion of scheme in around 2020. [...]
Begbies Traynor hurt by decline in insolvencies July 14, 2015 BUSINESS recovery and advisory firm Begbies Traynor suffered a fall in annual profits after an improvement in the UK economy led to the lowest level of corporate insolvencies since the financial crisis. Adjusted profits before tax fell by a third to £3.6m in the year to 30 April compared with £5.4m the previous year. Total [...]
London rents climb higher as affordability falls across the UK July 14, 2015 London rents increased in the three months ending June, new figures show, as housing affordability continues to decline. Average London rents were 4.5 per cent higher over the period compared with the same period last year, according to figures released today from Rightmove. UK rents excluding London climbed 4.2 per cent. Rightmove’s head of lettings [...]
Building services group ISG is hit by another £10.5m of costs July 14, 2015 ISG warned yesterday that it expects to book another £10.5m in costs after problematic contracts forced the building services group to issue a shock profit warning in February. In a trading update for the year to 30 June, the Aim-listed firm said it has set aside £5.5m to wind down its luxury construction services arm [...]
Supermarket price wars prove a potent aid to popularity July 14, 2015 German discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl hold on to their positions as the highest performing brands in YouGov BrandIndex’s mid-year Buzz Score Rankings, while we have positive news for the Co-Op group in the most improved brand list. The rankings are based on YouGov’s BrandIndex Buzz scores, which measures whether consumers have heard anything [...]
City Moves for 15 July 2015 | Who’s switching jobs July 14, 2015 EY The professional services firm has appointed Lisa Ashe as a partner in its UK & Ireland restructuring practice, where she will be working across Europe, Middle East, India and Africa focusing on private equity portfolios. She joins from Alix Partners, where she was managing director in its turnaround and restructuring group across Europe. Ashe [...]
Best of the Brokers for 15 July 2015 July 14, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com MARKS & SPENCER Espirito Santo said the autumn/winter range should be the “clearest indication yet” on whether progress has been made, the unknown factor being how much gross margin general merchandise can make. It has upped its full-year profit forecast by one per [...]
Sky shines but rates warning knocks back UK’s housebuilders – London Report July 14, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index closed higher yesterday, with broadcaster Sky climbing after Deutsche Bank upgraded the shares and energy stocks rising as crude oil rose. The FTSE 100 index closed 0.2 per cent higher at 6,753.75 points, extending a one per cent rise on Monday when markets welcomed a Greek debt deal. Shares in Sky [...]
Wall St buoyed by Iran oil deal – New York Report July 14, 2015 WALL Street gained for a fourth straight session yesterday, its longest winning streak since January, buoyed by the energy sector as oil prices rebounded from early declines. Oil prices were initially lower on concerns a deal between Iran and six global powers would result in more supply, but turned higher after it became apparent sanctions [...]
