Playtime for the mayor and PM April 22, 2015 IT was all fun and games for Boris Johnson and David Cameron yesterday morning at a nursery in southwest London. The mayor and the Prime Minister met pupils of the Advantage Children’s Day Nursery for puzzles, playtime and art. The students are unlikely to vote on 7 May, but their Kingston constituency is a Tory target. [...]
Lucky streak for punters has hit Ladbrokes profit April 22, 2015 SHARES in bookmaker Ladbrokes closed down 3.2 per cent at 102.7p yesterday, after the company reported a year-on-year fall in operating profits of 22 per cent to £14.3m. The group’s net revenue did rise 3.3 per cent in the first three months of 2015, and the bookies’ digital offering continues to grow, with mobile betting [...]
The Original Bowling Company strikes to take over Bowlplex April 22, 2015 THE ORIGINAL Bowling Company yesterday announced it will take over rival Bowlplex in a deal funded by its private equity owner. Electra Partners, which invested £51m in The Original Bowling Company (TOBC) last September, said it will buy Bowlplex, for an unspecified sum, subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority. TOBC operates under [...]
Gazprom slams European commission claims over abusive business practices April 22, 2015 RUSSIAN oil and gas company Gazprom said yesterday that claims brought against the company by the European Commission as part of an ongoing antitrust investigation were unsubstantiated. The commission yesterday served charges against the firm in a formal statement of objections alleging that “some of its business practices in Central and Eastern European gas markets [...]
McDonalds not loving it as its revenue and income falls April 22, 2015 MCDONALD’S is developing a new plan to improve sales and profits as the company struggles to regain its position in the highly competitive fast-food market. Results released yesterday for the first quarter of 2015, the first under new chief executive Steve Easterbrook, show the firms sales for restaurants that have been open at least 13 [...]
City Moves for 23 April 2015 | Who’s switching jobs April 22, 2015 N+1 Singer The corporate advisory and broking firm has appointed Nic Hellyer as director in its corporate finance team. He joins from HSBC, where he was managing director and head of its UK mid-market advisory team. Hellyer has also held roles at UBS and KPMG. Standard Chartered Sir Iain Lobban has been appointed senior adviser [...]
Warm welcome for Rolls-Royce chief executive April 22, 2015 SHARES in engineering company Rolls-Royce jumped by 4.07 per cent yesterday after it announced that chief executive John Rishton is to be replaced by tech veteran Warren East. Rishton is retiring, with effect from 2 July, after deciding “it is time for a change in lifestyle”. East, who previously led software company Arm Holdings, has [...]
Travis Perkins beats its target despite weakness in boiler sales April 22, 2015 Travis Perkins shares rose 2.8 per cent yesterday after Britain’s biggest supplier of building materials posted a 5.1 per cent rise in first-quarter like-for-like sales. The increase, which beat its target, was driven by growth in the general merchanting and contracts units, while its plumbing and heating division faced a 3.7 per cent fall, which [...]
Miner Rio Tinto boosts shares with buy-back April 22, 2015 SHARES in miner Rio Tinto were up by 1.83 per cent yesterday after the group confirmed that it is aiming to complete a $2bn (£1.33bn) share buy-back by the end of December 2015. The company announced the buy-back in February, and in an update to the market said that any shares bought back between yesterday [...]
BHP Billiton weathers oil storm with rig cuts April 22, 2015 AUSTRALIAN mining group BHP Billiton reduced the rig count at its US onshore oil operation by 35 per cent in the three months to March 2015. The company’s boss Andrew Mackenzie said the move had been made in a quick response to current market conditions, and added: “With higher oil prices expected over the medium [...]
