UBS returns to profit February 8, 2011 UBS said it expects to win back more money from clients in 2011 and has laid the foundations for a rebound in its investment bank as chief Oswald Gruebel turns around a bank almost felled by the crisis. UBS said it had seen improvement across all its businesses in the fourth quarter – with total [...]
Moss Bros sells Hugo Boss franchise February 7, 2011 Moss Bros today agreed to sell its 15-strong Hugo Boss franchise stores back to the fashion giant for £16.5m in order to concentrate on its own brands. Moss has held the franchise since 1995, with stores selling include Regent Street, Bond Street, Brent Cross and two in the City. Chief executive Brian Brick said that [...]
Randgold profit surges on gold price February 7, 2011 MINER Randgold Resources posted a jump in profits, fuelled by soaring gold prices. The FTSE 100 company posted a profit before income tax and financing activities of $136m (£84m), up from $113.7m in 2009. Gold sales were $487.67m, against $434m before. In a statement Randgold said it “forged ahead” in what had been a tough [...]
AOL to pay £222m for Huffington Post February 7, 2011 US internet firm AOL has sealed a buyout of the Huffington Post online newspaper for $315m (£222m). The deal will create an internet media group with 270m users. The cash will be paid to co-founders Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer as well as a few handful of shareholders. Huffington will head the combined firm’s content [...]
Laxey demands changes at Alliance Trust February 7, 2011 Activist hedge fund Laxey Partners has demanded changes at investment company Alliance Trust to boost its share price, the latest example of rebel shareholders putting pressure on a fund management company. On Monday, Laxey published details of a letter which it had sent to Alliance Trust on 27 January. In the letter, Laxey said Alliance [...]
Bellway sales on the rise February 7, 2011 Housing developer Bellway completed the sale of 2,332 homes in the the six months to 31 January. That was 85 more than in the same period the previous year. The average price of these homes has risen from £155,871 in the same period last year to £168,000, – an eight per cent jump This company [...]
New car registrations drop February 4, 2011 New car registrations fell 11.5 per cent on the year in January to 128,811 vehicles, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. The organisation predicted that 2010 would be a tough year. “This is in line with SMMT forecasts and marks the beginning of a challenging year for the UK motor industry,” said [...]
SuperGroup in €40m deal to expand in Europe February 4, 2011 SuperGroup, owner of the rapidly growing Superdry clothes chain, has paid €40m (£33.7m) in cash and shares to buy out its Benelux and France franchisee CNC Collections from its owner Luc Clément. CNC is the leading franchisee globally for the Superdry brand and Clément will become SuperGroup’s head of European franchising. It has been a [...]
John Lewis warns over tough trading as sales fall February 4, 2011 John Lewis reported a second consecutive fall in weekly sales at its department stores and warned of tougher trading ahead as shoppers face higher prices, taxes and public spending cuts. However, the employee-owned group, which has long outperformed the broader retail sector, said on Friday it was still budgeting for growth for the year to [...]
House prices up 0.8 per cent in January February 4, 2011 UK house prices rose by a slim 0.8 per cent in January compared with the previous month, according to figures from the Halifax. But the lender said prices had fallen 2.4 per cent compared with a year earlier. According to the figures the typical home in the UK now costs £164,173. “We expect limited movement [...]
