BAA unveils new debt plan August 20, 2010 Airport operator BAA moved a step closer to refinancing its debt by agreeing new lending facilities with a group of eight banks and said it would pay a large chunk of its borrowings next month. BAA said it completed a £625m four-year debt facility, marking significant progress towards refinancing its subordinated debt of £1.57bn. The [...]
M&B to offload pubs for £373m August 20, 2010 Pubs and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has announced plans to sell 333 pubs as it concentrates on its premises offering food. The pubs are being sold to Stonegate Pub Company – which is controlled by TDR Capital – for £373m. Earlier this month, M&B announced the sale of its Hollywood Bowl 10-pin bowling [...]
Online sales surge August 20, 2010 INTERNET sales grew in July at their fastest pace since before the recession as wet weather encouraged home shopping, a survey found Online sales surged by 18 per cent in the month compared with a year earlier, IMRG said. UK shoppers spent £5bn online in July. The average UK shopper made purchases worth £81 online, [...]
PTT plots bid for Carrefour assets August 20, 2010 PTT, Thailand’s biggest energy company, said it plans to bid for French retailer Carrefour’s Thai assets, worth an estimated $600M (£386m), under a plan to diversify its businesses. Carrefour, Europe’s top retailer, wants to sell its Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand units at a potential price of $1BN to focus on core markets where it holds [...]
Dubai to go on road to ease investor fears August 20, 2010 The Dubai government, which is restructuring $23.5bn (£15.1bn) in debt, will launch a roadshow for fixed-income investors in Asia starting on 26 August, a statement said. The plan follows a similar program for European investors in June, as part of the government’s strategy for “providing regular updates to both existing and prospective fixed income investors [...]
KNOC launches £1.7bn hostile bid for Dana August 20, 2010 State-run Korea National Oil Corp (KNOC) has made a hostile $2.6bn (£1.7bn) cash bid for Dana Petroleum, reflecting South Korea’s growing urgency to boost oil reserves. Seoul gave KNOC a $6.5bn warchest this year to compete with energy-hungry Asian state firms aiming to secure future supplies for their growing economies. Chinese and other firms have [...]
Government borrowing on the way down August 19, 2010 THE Government is cutting Britain’s record levels of borrowing despite tumbling into the red again last month. Official figures showed the state borrowed £3.8bn in July. That compares with the £6.1bn deficit clocked up in the same month last year. The improvement came as corporation tax receipts rose to £8.5bn up – from £6.2bn in [...]
Exports bounce back August 19, 2010 AN index of British factory orders rose to its highest level in two years in August after overseas demand rebounded from a dip in July, the CBI’s monthly industrial trends survey showed. The CBI survey showed how the total order book balance rose in line with expectations to -14 this month, up from -16 in [...]
France ratings fears put euro under pressure August 19, 2010 THE Euro dropped this morning after market fears that France could face a downgrade of its AAA credit rating in the long term. Fears were triggered after credit ratings agency Moody’s found earlier this week that the country’s rating was secure for now but could be under pressure in the future as uncertainty remains over [...]
Car production drops after end of scrappage scheme August 19, 2010 CAR production in Britain dropped by 8.9 per cent in July as the end of the scrappage scheme hit demand, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Production for the year-to-date was still 41.7 per cent higher than in the same period in 2009, the SMMT data showed. Last month’s drop was the [...]
