Burger King plans to go public again April 4, 2012 Hamburger chain Burger King said it plans go public through a deal with a London-listed investment firm, less than two years after it agreed to be taken private by private equity group 3G Capital Management. The quick sale highlights a profit improvement at Burger King’ Worldwide Holdings Inc, which operates more than 12,000 mainly franchise [...]
BSkyB chairman James Murdoch to quit April 3, 2012 BSkyB non-executive Chairman James Murdoch, under fire over his handling of a phone hacking scandal, is to step down from his role at Britain’s dominant pay-TV company, the group’s news channel reported. A spokesman for BSkyB declined to comment on the report, which said that Murdoch would step down after a board meeting later today.
JJB confirms financing talks April 3, 2012 Sportswear retailer JJB Sports , which nearly collapsed last year, said it was in talks with its bank and an unnamed “potential strategic partner” to raise financing. The company, which counts the richest man in the US, Bill Gates, among its major shareholders, issued the statement in response to a sharp rise in its share [...]
Molson to buy StarBev for £2bn April 3, 2012 Molson Coors Brewing said it will buy eastern European brewer StarBev for 2.65 billion euros (£2.19bn) to expand in central and eastern European beer markets. “The Central and Eastern European beer market is attractive, with strong historical trends and upside potential as the region returns to its pre-economic-crisis growth rates,” chief executive Peter Swinburn said [...]
Hannam to leave JP Morgan after FSA market abuse fine April 3, 2012 JP Morgan Cazenove chairman of capital markets Ian Hannam is leaving the bank after being hit with a £450,000 FSA fine for market abuse. Hannam, a star banker who has been at the firm for 20 years, was fined after allegedly disclosing inside information to a prospective client in 2008. He is appealing against the [...]
Construction activity shows strong growth April 3, 2012 Activity in Britain’s construction sector unexpectedly accelerated in March as orders rose at the fastest rate in 4-1/2 years and firms became more optimistic about the outlook, in another sign that Britain’s economy is on track for recovery. Following a surprise acceleration in manufacturing growth in March, the jump in the Markit/CIPS construction Purchasing Managers’ [...]
UK must sell RBS and Lloyds soon says TaxPayers’ Alliance April 3, 2012 Britain must sell its Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds stakes as soon as possible because keeping them is allowing politicians to gamble with people’s money on bank shares, according to a lobby group representing taxpayers. “Clearly the best outcome for taxpayers would be if we don’t make a loss on those shares, but we [...]
Whitbread appoints Rogers to lead Costa expansion April 3, 2012 Whitbread said that Chris Rogers, currently group finance director, would take over as chief executive of its rapidly expanding coffee shop chain Costa Coffee in August, with a remit to drive international growth. Whitbread, which also owns budget hotel chain Premier Inn, said Rogers will head up Costa’s global business to drive forward a five [...]
Cairn to buy Agora for £280m April 3, 2012 British oil explorer Cairn Energy has agreed a deal to buy Agora Oil & Gas for $450m (£280.7m) to increase its drilling activity in Britain and Norway in 2012 and expand its lower risk, near-term exploration assets. Cairn said it would pay for the deal through a combination of approximately 43 per cent cash and [...]
Total moves in relief wells to gas leak zone April 2, 2012 French oil major Total has mobilised rigs from its Fettercairn and West Franklin fields in the North Sea to drill two relief wells at its gas leaking Elgin platform, the company said on Monday. Two other vessels are also standing by near the platform to start underwater inspections and seabed surveys, Total said. “Both vessels [...]
