Ladbrokes seals £540m debt deal with banks December 2, 2011 Ladbrokes, Britain’s second-biggest bookmaker, said it had agreed a new five-year, £540m debt facility with its banks. Ladbrokes, which has 2,100 betting shops in the UK, said the new facility would mature in 2016 and replaces its existing £560m facility that was due to mature in 2013. The company estimates that the new blended rate [...]
RBS sells pubs business to Heineken for £422m December 2, 2011 Royal Bank of Scotland said it had sold its tenanted pub business to Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company, a unit of the world’s third-largest brewer Heineken, for £422m. The business, which comprises 918 pubs across Britain, has been operated by Scottish & Newcastle since 1999 under a management agreement.
Greenwood: RFU right to wait for boss December 1, 2011 FORMER England centre Will Greenwood believes the Rugby Football Union is right to delay naming a permanent successor to Martin Johnson until after the Six Nations. The RFU confirmed on Wednesday its intention to appoint a caretaker manager, which would seemingly pave the way for former Italy head coach Nick Mallett to take over ahead [...]
TRAIN-ING | Rugby stars play at City station December 1, 2011 PREMIERSHIP champions Saracens stunned onlookers at Liverpool Street Station yesterday by practising at the busy City terminal. Players Mouritz Botha (with ball), Jacques Burger and Kelly Brown put on line-out demonstrations and even roped in curious passers-by for some impromptu training as part of the build-up to their Heineken Cup clash with Ospreys at Wembley [...]
Late goal and red card dash Fulham hopes of easy route December 1, 2011 FC TWENTE 1 vs FULHAM 0 FULHAM manager Martin Jol refused to blame striker Andy Johnson after his stoppage-time red card completed a miserable Europa League night in Holland for the Cottagers. An 89th-minute winner from Marc Janko condemned the west Londoners to a defeat that leaves them needing to win their final group fixture [...]
FA hints at U-turn over Capello as England prepare to discover Euro 2012 opponents December 1, 2011 ENGLAND chiefs have paved the way for a spectacular U-turn over manager Fabio Capello after admitting he could stay on beyond next summer’s European Championships. The backtracking comes as England today prepare to discover who they will face at Euro 2012, when the draw is made in Kiev this afternoon. Both the Football Association and [...]
CPS mulling Terry case after police pass on files December 1, 2011 ENGLAND and Chelsea captain John Terry faces an anxious wait to discover whether he will be prosecuted over allegations of racist abuse, after police passed their file to the Crown Prosecution Service. Centre-back Terry has repeatedly and emphatically denied aiming a racial slur at QPR defender Anton Ferdinand during the Blues’ 1-0 defeat in a [...]
Devonish: I lost medals to drug cheats but don’t mind BOA scrapping life ban December 1, 2011 Exclusive: Sprinter tells Frank Dalleres why dopers deserve a second chance GOLD winning sprinter Marlon Devonish has delivered a blow to the British Olympic Association’s battle to uphold its lifetime ban for doping by insisting he does not mind competing alongside previous offenders at the London 2012 Games. The BOA is under intense pressure to drop [...]
MAKING THE GRADE | London 2012 hopefuls go back to school December 1, 2011 BRITISH London 2012 hopefuls from every single Olympic and Paralympic sport dusted off their uniforms for a school photo-style shoot yesterday – with four-time gold medallist Sir Matthew Pinsent as headmaster. Arsenal footballer Kieran Gibbs (row three, far left), tennis star Elena Baltacha (row two, fifth from left), sprinter Marlon Devonish (row four, fifth from [...]
Villas-Boas: I won’t be sacked December 1, 2011 FOOTBALL: Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas insists he does not fear the sack even if his side are knocked out of Europe against Valencia next week. The Blues have lost three in five Premier League games to slip 10 points behind leaders Manchester City and suffered back to back defeats in the Champions League and Carling [...]
