Smurfit-Kappa dividend rises February 11, 2015 SHAREHOLDERS at Smurfit-Kappa will benefit from a strong 2014 with a 30 per cent rise in its dividend. The packaging company shook off a decline in its exports to China and pricing volatility to increase revenues by two per cent to €8bn (£5.93bn) for the year. Net profit surged by 29 per cent to €378m [...]
Balfour Beatty’s new chairman fails to charm the stockmarket February 11, 2015 INFRASTRUCTURE group Balfour Beatty will welcome Philip Aiken as non-executive chairman on 26 March, replacing Steve Marshall who is retiring after 10 years at the company. Aiken is currently non-executive chairman of Aveva Group, and a non-executive director of both Newcrest Mining and National Grid, although he is stepping down from the National Grid board [...]
Corporate finance levels reach record high of £6.19 trillion February 11, 2015 THE TOTAL value of finance provided to global businesses from loans, bonds and equity hit a record high of £6.19 trillion in 2014, law firm Allen & Overy said yesterday. The firm’s Corporate Funding Monitor also highlighted a number of fundamental changes in the way in which corporates (excluding financial institutions and real estate companies) [...]
Redrow heralds record sales and profits after saving on dividend February 11, 2015 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow posted record sales and profits in the first half of the year thanks to the government’s Help to Buy scheme, a rise in house prices and strong demand for new homes. Group revenue in the six months to 31 December jumped by 54 per cent to £560.6m, driven by an 18 per cent [...]
Derwent London and LaSalle Investment Management agree to Farringdon property swap deal February 11, 2015 Derwent London yesterday agreed a property swap with LaSalle Investment Management to acquire the leasehold on a property in Farringdon and dispose of its stakes in three other properties. As part of the deal Derwent will acquire a 175-year leasehold on 20 Farringdon Road. In exchange Derwent will hand the 22 Kingsway property in central [...]
City Moves for 12 February 2015 | Who’s switching jobs February 11, 2015 Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking has announced the appointment of Christopher Sood-Nicholls as managing director. He joined in 2000, and has since held management roles in IT operations, executive management and corporate development at the bank. BlackRock The investment management firm has appointed Deborah Winshel to lead its impact investing platform. She was formerly [...]
Best of the Brokers for 12 February 2015 February 11, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ABCAM Canaccord Genuity has raised its recommendation for Cambridge-based biotech firm Abcam to “hold” from “sell”. Analyst Julie Simmonds cited “a combination of a fall in share price and positive commentary on market conditions from peers.” ESURE Berenberg has downgraded Surrey-based insurer Esure [...]
Energy, oil and Sky’s football bill hurt FTSE – London Report February 11, 2015 THE UK and Gas index fell 0.6 per cent after crude dropped 2.3 per cent on expectations of persistent oversupply, a stronger dollar and a report showing US crude stockpiles at a record high yesterday. Meanwhile the main index was dragged lower by energy company movements as well as the fallout from Sky bidding for [...]
Wall St quietly awaits plans from Europe – New York Report February 11, 2015 THE S&P 500 index finished unchanged yesterday as investors were reluctant to make big bets while they waited for the outcomes of major talks involving Greece and Ukraine, but Apple helped boost the Nasdaq after an activist investor’s bullish comments. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis began tense talks with Eurozone finance ministers yesterday after his [...]
Why government must stop treating medium-sized firms like corporates February 11, 2015 Speaking to business leaders earlier this week, David Cameron unveiled a British version of Germany’s Mittelstand scheme. Help to Grow will see £1bn of funding ploughed into medium-sized businesses across the country, bridging the “valley of death” funding gap that hampers our most promising scale-ups. But while there have been several high-profile and encouraging moves [...]
