All Leisure battered by fuel price and currency swings January 25, 2010 ALL Leisure Group, the owner of luxury cruise ships such as the Hebridean Princess, said yesterday it managed to stay in the black for the past year, though it did not escape the punishing effects of the recession and adverse currency and fuel price movements. The group, which operates the Swan Hellenic and Voyages of [...]
Pearl bondholders head for showdown meeting January 25, 2010 Pearl Group, the insurance company planning to list on the stock market sometime this year, should know tomorrow whether it has done enough to placate a disgruntled bondholder group. Pearl has convened a meeting of its bondholders at the Canary Wharf offices of law firm Clifford Chance at which an offer to investors, who have [...]
City of London doubles managed assets as investors lap up emerging markets January 25, 2010 ASSET management firm City of London Investment Group said yesterday it had doubled its assets under management over the first half of the year, as investors shifted cash to the emerging markets. City of London’s funds under management rose to $4.7bn (£2.9bn) over the six months to November 2009, from $2.1bn in the same period [...]
250-YEAR OLD BOOZER BREAKS TRADITION TO BRING IN EARLY BIRDS January 25, 2010 TIMES really are a-changin’, aren’t they? We’ve all noticed a shift in the financial community’s attitude to wining and dining over the past few years, with slick power breakfasts replacing boozy lunches as the City’s repast of choice. But surely the old guard of the banking world never dreamed they’d see the day when Simpson’s [...]
Potential buyers line up for retail chain Adams January 25, 2010 THE troubled Adams childrenswear retail chain has received approaches from a number of potential buyers, according to administrators trying to save the company as a going concern. Insolvency firm MCR yesterday confirmed the assets of Adams’ parent company, JS Childrenswear, were up for sale. “We are already seeing significant interest in the business and assets [...]
Fresh job cuts after Ericsson profits dip January 25, 2010 PROFITS at Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson plunged 92 per cent in the fourth quarter triggering a cull of 1,500 staff. The company has been hit by an ongoing dip in orders and the costs of its restructuring. Its net profit was 314m krona (£11.3bn) from October to December compared with 3.89bn krona during the same [...]
Apple Mania January 25, 2010 SHOPPERS snapped up Apple’s iconic Mac computers, iPhones and iPods in the run-up to Christmas, helping the US consumer electronics giant to notch up forecast-busting profits ahead of tomorrow’s long-awaited launch of its tablet device. Sales of the company’s Mac computers hit a record in the first quarter, rising 33 per cent on a year [...]
Forget Cadbury, entrepreneurs will save UK January 25, 2010 OCCASIONALLY on a Friday night as I review the remains of the week, I wonder why I put myself through it. Last week, one of my portfolio companies nearly hit a wall, and I had to coach the existing investors through their panic to send through an emergency bridge round. Another one of our companies [...]
Staycations hammer hotels January 25, 2010 Insolvency levels among hotels hit a high for the recession during the fourth quarter of 2009, according to the latest data from business advisers PricewaterhouseCoopers. Over the winter, the rate at which hospitality and leisure firms became insolvent rose 12 per cent. The increase was driven by a 68 per cent surge in hotel insolvencies [...]
Philips says TV sales help to boost profit January 25, 2010 GLOBAL electronics firm Philips yesterday reported a net profit of €251m (£220m) for the last three months of 2009. The profit reverses a loss of €1.2bn in the same period a year ago as the recession took its toll on the Dutch firm. The company said its profits were higher at all divisions, despite sales [...]
