High Court lifts BA strike ban May 20, 2010 UNITE has won an appeal against a high court order banning a strike by BA cabin crew staff. BA was granted an injunction on Monday after the court ruled that the Unite union had not reported results of its strike ballot correctly to members. But Unite appealed against the decision, and the panel ruled 2-1 [...]
Car production soars by 44pc May 20, 2010 CAR production in Britain jumped by 44 per cent in April compared with the same month last year. A total of 98,290 cars were made in the month as the industry emerged from recession. Commercial vehicle production also rose – increasing 40.8 per cent to 10,777, according to the society of motoring Manufacturers and Traders. [...]
Mothercare raises dividend despite flat profit May 20, 2010 MOTHERCARE posted flat profit for the year but raised its dividend 16 per cent and said it was well placed to drive forward. The group, which trades from over 1,100 stores in 52 countries, said it made an underlying pre-tax profit of £37.2m for the year to 27 March. Group sales increased 5.9 per cent [...]
Dubai World in debt restructure deal May 20, 2010 DUBAI World, the state-owned conglomerate, has reached an agreement “in principle” with most of its bank lenders to restructure debt worth $23.5bn (£16.4bn). It said in a statement it would be left with debts of $14.4bn after the restructuring. Dubai World asked for a six-month delay on debt repayments in a move which shook world [...]
National Grid in £3.2bn rights issue May 20, 2010 NATIONAL Grid has said that it will launch a £3.2bn rights issue. The company’s two for five issue will see 990.4m new shares at 335 pence each. National Grid will use the money raised for a “significant increase in UK capital investment”, it said in a statement. It is also aimed at maintaining the company’s [...]
Pearson to pay £99m for Melorio May 19, 2010 MEDIA group Pearson has agreed to pay £99.3m for vocational training provider Melorio. The publisher which also owns the Financial Times and Penguin books, said it had agreed with Melorio’s board to offer 225p a share in cash for the company. Pearson said the move was made in response to the growing global demand for [...]
Land Securities kick-starts City building boom May 19, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest property company Land Securities has unveiled a massive City of London development push after predicting a run on office space. The company said it was in talks to build a skyscraper popularly known as the “Walkie Talkie” on Fenchurch Street (pictured) as a shortage in prime City offices loomed. Chief Executive Francis Salway [...]
ICAP profits down but beats forecasts May 19, 2010 ICAP – the world’s biggest interdealer broker – said active and volatile markets enabled it to make a good start to its financial year after posting a five per cent drop in full-year pre-tax profit, beating expectations. Concerns about Greece and a massive rescue package for the debt-laden country have led to wide swings in [...]
Mitchells & Butlers sees profits jump May 19, 2010 PUBS group Mitchells & Butlers has seen a surge in half-year profits. The owner of the All Bar One and O’Neill’s pub chains said pre-tax profits for the six months to 10 April were £73m, up from £47m the year before. Profits were fuelled by increased food sales and improved profit margins. Like-for-like sales for [...]
British Land back in black after property market picks up May 18, 2010 BRITISH land has returned to profit after the value of its property portfolio increased. The developer and landlord posted profits of £1.13bn for the year to 31 March. The company had suffered two years of heavy losses, including £3.93bn in the previous year. Its property portfolio, which includes the Broadgate Estate in the City, rose [...]
