Travis Perkins plans 400 new stores as housing market grows March 19, 2015 Travis Perkins has announced plans to create 4,000 jobs by opening 400 new branches across the UK over the next four years. The majority of the positions will be outside London and the south east and consist of apprenticeships for younger people, branch managers, assistant managers, skilled IT professionals and supply chain specialists. The builders’ [...]
Sonya branches out to bank’s general counsel March 19, 2015 THE BANK of England yesterday announced the appointment of Sonya Branch as General Counsel, taking over from Graham Nicholson, who is retiring. She joins from the Competition and Markets Authority, where she was executive director of enforcement. She will provide legal advice to both the Bank and its prudential regulation authority.
Tag Heuer joins with Google in a smartwatch deal March 19, 2015 LUXURY watchmaker Tag Heuer is partnering Google and Intel to go head-to-head in the emerging smartwatch battleground. The trio announced their plans yesterday to team up at the Swiss trade fair Baselworld, and between them they could produce something that rivals Apple’s recent efforts in the area. The companies described it as “a new era [...]
Heidelberg cements place with revenue rise despite fall in profits March 19, 2015 HeidelbergCement yesterday announced that net profit plummeted 26 per cent to €687m (£496m) for the 2014 financial year. The German cement producer said the decline reflected a one-time loss and non-recurring charges, which pushed 2013 profit up to €933m. It said the crisis in eastern Ukraine had impaired its sales and results there, but that [...]
GoDaddy goes for float with a $3bn price tag March 19, 2015 WEB FIRM GoDaddy is expected to be valued at $2.9bn (£1.9bn) on its initial public offering (IPO), it was revealed yesterday. The web hosting and domain registration company serves 12.7m customers and saw its revenues rise 23 per cent to $1.4bn in the year ending 31 December. Net losses at the firm fell from $200m [...]
DP World sails away with 11pc increase in profits and revenues March 19, 2015 GLOBAL marine terminal operator DP World yesterday announced its profits rose to $675m (£460m) for the year ending 31 December, an 11.7 per cent increase on the previous period’s $604m. The UAE-based port giant saw revenue jump by a similar 11 per cent to $3.41bn, up from $3.073bn in 2013. DP World, whose flagship terminal [...]
City Moves for 20 March 2015 | Who’s switching jobs March 19, 2015 Baker Tilly The audit, tax, and accountancy firm has appointed Rowan Williams as head of its professional services group. She joined Baker Tilly in 2009, and has led its London business advisory team and its professional services group in London and the South. Old Mutual Wealth Mary-Anne McIntyre has been appointed chief distribution officer at [...]
Best of the Brokers for 20 March 2015 March 19, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com VIRGIN MONEY Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage on the challenger bank with a “buy” rating, and said the firm benefits from strong customer loyalty evidenced by current retention rates. The broker added that good brand recognition and links into the intermediary market should aid [...]
FTSE is lifted to a record high post-Budget – London Report March 19, 2015 BRITAIN’S benchmark share index touched record highs yesterday, with gold miners outperforming, after the US Federal Reserve and Bank of England both dampened prospects of interest rate rises in the near term. The FTSE 100 index rose as much as 0.5 per cent to a record high of 6,982.79 points, beating the earlier record of [...]
Wall St falls as stronger dollar weighs on fuel – New York Report March 19, 2015 US STOCKS fell yesterday as a stronger dollar weighed on oil and other commodity prices, sending energy and materials sectors lower. The greenback rose after a sharp decline on Wednesday. The Federal Reserve appeared to be more dovish than expected even as it opened the door for a Fed funds rate hike as soon as [...]
