Inflation rises to six-month high December 14, 2010 Consumer price inflation rose unexpectedly to a six-month high of 3.3 per cent in November, driven by rises in the cost of food and clothing, according to the Office for National Statistics. The figures will disappoint Bank of England policymakers who are concerned that rising commodity prices may aggravate the impact of a rise in [...]
Beazley drops offer for Hardy Underwriting December 14, 2010 Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley said it dropped its possible offer of up to 350 pence a share for rival Hardy Underwriting, saying that Hardy had sought a much higher price. “At a meeting between the two companies on 13 December, Hardy’s advisers confirmed that the Hardy board would only be prepared to recommend a [...]
Travis Perkins keeps target as revenue rises December 14, 2010 Builders merchant Travis Perkins said turnover for the 11 months to the end of November rose 6.5 per cent and kept its outlook unchanged, as it prepares to complete its takeover of BSS Group. The company also saw an improvement in sales trends in the last two months to 30 November, although it expected the [...]
Carpetright profit tumbles 28 per cent December 14, 2010 Britain’s biggest floor coverings retailer, posted a 28 per cent drop in first-half profit as sales were dented by weak consumer confidence and sluggish mortgage approvals. The firm, which runs 584 stores in the UK and Ireland and 118 in The Netherlands and Belgium, made an underlying pretax profit of £10m in the 26 weeks [...]
Whitbread profit fuelled by Costa and Premier December 14, 2010 Britain’s biggest hotel and coffee shop operator Whitbread said it expected strong profit growth in its current financial year benefiting from increased sales at its Premier Inn and Costa Coffee chains. Whitbread, which also owns the Beefeater and Brewers Fayre restaurant chains, said sales at Premier Inn hotels open for more than a year grew [...]
Manufacturer input costs rise December 13, 2010 Manufacturers’ input costs rose slightly faster than expected in November and at the fastest annual rate since July, official data showed, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The ONS said that annual producer input price inflation picked up to nine per cent from 8.2 per cent in October, above economists’ forecasts of a [...]
De La Rue appoints Cobbold as new chief December 13, 2010 British bank note maker De La Rue confirmed the appointment of Chloride chief executive Tim Cobbold as its new CEO, ending months of speculation and uncertainty about the firm’s leadership. Cobbold, who has worked at Chloride since 2007 and formerly worked at Smiths Group, had been in advanced talks with De La Rue over the [...]
Metro Bank eyes expansion after raising £50m December 13, 2010 Metro Bank, launched in July as Britain’s first new high street retail bank in more than 100 years, said it had raised £50m of new capital from investors to further develop its business. The latest round of capital raising builds on an initial £75m raised earlier this year, and the company said the new cash [...]
GE to buy Wellstream for £800m December 13, 2010 General Electric said it would buy oilfield services company Wellstream Holdings for about £800m, in a deal that would expand the US conglomerate’s subsea equipment and services portfolio. GE said as per the deal, Wellstream shareholders would receive 780 pence in cash and a special dividend of 6p per Wellstream share. Shares of Wellstream closed [...]
Sanofi extends deadline on £11bn Genzyme bid December 13, 2010 Sanofi-Aventis extended its $18.5 billion (£11.7bn) cash offer for US biotech group Genzyme until 21 January and left open the option to prolong it further, a sign the French drugmaker is ready for a long battle. Nearly one per cent of Genzyme shareholders had tendered their shares to Sanofi’s $69-a-share offer before an initial deadline [...]
