Spire’s Kent hospital to shut taking 120 jobs June 2, 2015 SPIRE Healthcare warned yesterday it will be forced to close St Saviour’s Hospital in Hythe, Kent, after a consultation deemed the level of investment needed for its development and upkeep would be uneconomical. If the closure goes ahead, up to 120 staff at the hospital will face losing their jobs. Chief executive Rob Roger said [...]
Synergy suffers from unhealthy pre-tax profits June 2, 2015 UK-BASED health outsourcing firm Synergy recorded slowing pre-tax profits for the year ending 29 March. The company recorded revenue growth of 7.5 per cent year-on-year to £408.8m, up from £380.5m a year earlier, although pre-tax profits inched up by just 1.6 per cent during the period. Last week, investors were left disappointed after a planned [...]
Mortgage approvals jump in April June 2, 2015 THE NUMBER of mortgage approvals granted for new homes in April shot up at its fastest rate since 2009, but lending to firms is struggling to gain momentum. There were 68,076 mortgages granted for house purchase in April, the Bank of England said yesterday. It marked a 9.9 per cent jump on March’s 61,945. “One [...]
UK businesses splashing out on foreign firms June 2, 2015 BRITISH firms have roared back to life in the last six months, spending billions buying up overseas businesses, official figures released yesterday showed. UK businesses bought 41 foreign firms worth more than £1m in the first quarter of 2015, the highest number since early 2012. That is up from 35 in the final three months [...]
Henderson’s Wizard of Oz strikes triple takeover deal to add £6bn June 2, 2015 HENDERSON Group, which once used Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho in its adverts, yesterday swooped on a trio of Australian fund management businesses to bolster the firm’s assets under management by £5.7bn. Boss Andrew Formica, who is Australian, has struck a deal to buy two boutique fund divisions called Perennial Growth Management and Perennial Fixed Income [...]
Caledonia nears deal to snap up Aegon and Zurich stake in Seven June 2, 2015 FUND manager Caledonia Investments is closing in on a deal to buy a majority stake in Seven Investment Management. Caledonia, which is 48.5 per cent owned by the illustrious Cayzers shipping family, is hoping to buy out insurance giants Aegon and Zurich Insurance, who own a controlling stake in the firm. The potential deal, which [...]
Ascot prepares for a right royal celebration June 2, 2015 THE BEEF’S been ordered, the champagne chilled and the course grass cut to no more than four inches high: It’s just two weeks until Royal Ascot, which is among the best events in the social and racing calendar. Whether you’re making an entrance in one of the 400 helicopters or emerging elegantly from among the [...]
Hotel follows who’s who of Hula-hooping June 2, 2015 Popular with actresses and models – including Liv Tyler and Emma Stone (pictured) – calorie-burning hula-hooping arrives in the rooftop spa of the Berkeley Hotel this month. Burning up to 600 calories an hour, the workout is said to help keep silhouettes svelte and shapely. The Berkeley hosts 60-minute masterclasses for up to six hula-hoopers [...]
Fastjet’s sales up but its Fly 540 misadventure hits bottom line June 2, 2015 AFRICAN budget airline Fastjet has widened its pre-tax loss for 2014, despite doubling its revenue during the year. Losses including the discontinued businesses of Fly 540 in Angola and Ghana were up to $72m (£46m). Operating loss before exceptionals was $30.7m. Fastjet reported that its core Tanzania operation had an 106 per cent increase in [...]
Wolseley gets revenue lift off currency boost June 2, 2015 FAVOURABLE exchange rates and improving margins delivered bumper profits for plumbing distributor Wolseley, results revealed yesterday. The UK-based building materials firm saw revenues boosted by £107m during the third quarter ending 30 April, due to currency movements, with the firm’s US market being the main beneficiary. US revenues increased by 8.3 per cent on a [...]
