TfL and MySingleFriend.com bring love to London’s cable cars and river buses February 2, 2015 All aboard, singletons! The capital’s river buses and cable cars are set to transport Londoners on a journey to love – and all in time for Valentine’s Day. Transport for London (TfL) and website MySingleFriend.com plan to host a date night on board MBNA Thames Clippers and the Emirates Air Line on Thursday 12 February. [...]
Shire given nod by US for binge-eating disorder drug Vyvanse February 2, 2015 Drugs giant Shire traded up to three per cent higher yesterday morning and closed 0.95 per cent up, after news that the US Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved its new binge-eating disorder drug. Vyvanse, which is currently approved to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, generated sales of more than $1bn (£665m) in the [...]
Inmarsat’s second Global Xpress broadband satellite takes flight February 2, 2015 INMARSAT shares took off yesterday following the successful launch of the satellite operator’s latest spacecraft on Sunday. The Global Xpress (GX) satellite is the second of what will eventually be four satellites making a $1.6bn (£1.1bn) network to provide mobile broadband to users on land, sea and air around the world. Shares in the group [...]
Annuity sales slide ahead of pension change February 2, 2015 INSURANCE group LV has reported a six per cent increase in sales in its life insurance business during 2014, up to £1.51bn from £1.43bn in 2013. Pensions sales went up by eight per cent, while sales in the savings & investments division grew by 66 per cent. Sales of annuities were reduced by 15 per [...]
Equistone revs up for motorbike business by buying stake in Polo February 2, 2015 PRIVATE equity firm Equistone Partners Europe has bought a majority stake in German motorcycle clothing and accessories brand Polo Motorrad. The firm was put up for sale by the previous main owner, Paragon Partners, along with Tempus Capital and SM Investment. Under Equistone’s ownership, Polo plans on expanding its network in both Germany, where it [...]
LendInvest IPO: P2P mortgage firm hoping to be City’s first public crowdfunding site February 2, 2015 Peer-to-peer (P2P) mortgage firm LendInvest is hoping to be the first crowdfunding business to list on the London Stock Exchange with plans afoot for its debut in the next 12 months. The group’s chief executive Christian Faes told City A.M. that while the business has yet to appoint bankers to work on it, he said [...]
Taylor St Baristas mini-bond brews up £1.8m February 2, 2015 LONDON coffee chain Taylor St Baristas has soared past its £1.5m goal, raising £1.8m from investors to fund the doubling of the size of the firm by 2017. Bondholders, who invested via crowdfunding site Crowdcube, will receive eight per cent fixed rate interest per annum for the four year term.
Ryanair shares down despite growing passenger numbers February 2, 2015 DISCOUNT carrier Ryanair revealed a boosted earnings outlook yet again yesterday, with profits expected to reach €840m-€850m (£630m-£638m) during the 12 months to 31 March 2015. This is up from the €810m-€830m forecast issued less than two months ago on 4 December. The company also posted a €49m net profit for the three months to 31 [...]
Sports Direct boss Ashley under fire from Scottish MPs over USC February 2, 2015 MIKE ASHLEY could face a grilling by Scottish MPs over the administration of clothing retailer USC, with politicians pressing to launch a full parliamentary investigation into his activities. The Scottish Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into the fast fashion chain, with MPs last week branding the redundancies of more than 200 people as “despicable” and [...]
McCarthy & Stone to create 400 jobs as part of £2bn expansion February 2, 2015 RETIREMENT housebuilder McCarthy & Stone announced plans yesterday to launch in three new regions and create 400 jobs as part of its expansion plans to meet booming demand from Britain’s ageing population. The property developer has pledged to invest £2bn on land over the next four years as it looks to double in size and [...]
