Waterstones’ losses widen February 5, 2013 BOOKSELLER Waterstones revealed yesterday that a “disappointing sales performance” had dragged the company to a £40m loss last year, sparking fears for the future of the high street chain. HMV sold the retailer for £53m last year to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut who put James Daunt, the founder of the eponymous books chain, in charge [...]
UBM sells £160m data services arm to Electra February 5, 2013 MEDIA and marketing services company UBM said yesterday it has received a £160m binding offer from private equity firm Electra Partners for a portfolio of its data services businesses. The deal consideration includes a £40m vendor loan note, UBM said in a statement. The businesses being sold represent a bulk of UBM’s data services operations [...]
Cab hire firm Hailo raises $30m to fuel drive into new markets February 5, 2013 TAXI app company Hailo has raised $30m to help fund launches in New York, Tokyo and other cities this year. The firm, founded by three London cab drivers in 2011, has clinched fresh funds from existing and new backers. One of the new investors is Sir Richard Branson, while Union Square Ventures is among its [...]
SABMiller buys £550m brewery assets in China February 5, 2013 SABMILLER, the world’s second-biggest brewer, is to expand further into high-growth regional markets in China after CR Snow, a local joint venture, agreed to buy Kingway Brewery assets for 5.38bn yuan (£549.7m). Asia’s $258bn (£164.7bn) beer market is growing twice as fast as the rest of the world, leading to rising competition and expectations of [...]
Randgold boss warns changing mining codes will dent finance February 5, 2013 THE CHIEF executive of blue chip gold miner Randgold Resources has warned that making changes to mining codes in African countries could stunt investment in mining companies. Speaking at the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town, Mark Bristow said that Africa, which is rich in mineral terms, has to compete for investment with other regions [...]
Ryanair lines up concession February 5, 2013 RYANAIR has agreed the possibility of transferring some of its routes and aircraft to smaller operator Flybe in order to win the European Commission’s approval for its Aer Lingus bid. Flybe confirmed yesterday that Ryanair had agreed in principle to create a new company, into which business assets and cash of €100m (£86.2m) would be [...]
Water bills in England to rise by 3.5 per cent over this year February 5, 2013 HOUSEHOLD water and sewerage bills in England and Wales are set to rise by 3.5 per cent or around £13 over the next year, water regulator Ofwat said yesterday. The increase will take into account an inflation rate of three per cent and will mean a total average bill of £388 in 2013-2014, the regulator [...]
Japan’s Toyota lifts forecasts on record worldwide car sales February 5, 2013 TOYOTA Motor Corp yesterday lifted its annual profit guidance, banking on stronger sales in its key US market and a boost from a weaker yen which put its Japanese manufacturing in the black for the first time in five years. But the world’s best-selling carmaker, which shipped a record number of cars last year, said [...]
Icap broking volumes up February 5, 2013 ICAP, the world’s biggest interdealer broker, yesterday said electronic broking volumes on its bond and foreign exchange platforms leapt 17 per cent last month, versus a year ago. Average daily volumes on its bond trading suite BrokerTec and EBS foreign exchange platform totalled $767.9bn (£491bn) for January, according to the firm.
British Airways carries IAG stats February 5, 2013 International Airlines Group posted a slight rise in January traffic, as strong growth at British Airways again made up for weakness at Spain’s Iberia. Traffic, measured in revenue passenger kilometres, rose 0.7 per cent versus January 2012 on capacity one per cent lower. IAG said its first and business-class travel, the most profitable part of [...]
