Joe Lewis raises his stake in M&B December 19, 2011 Billionaire currency trader Joe Lewis’s Piedmont investment vehicle has upped its stake in pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers, a former acquisition target, to over 25 per cent. Piedmont, which in October abandoned plans to make an offer for the group, is now M&B’s largest shareholder with a 25.65 per cent stake. “He’s blocking [...]
Jacques Vert agrees takeover December 19, 2011 Sun European Partners has made a cash offer to snap up Aim-listed Jacques Vert in a deal which values the womenswear brand at £41.2m. Its shares soared 66 per cent on the news, which came nearly a month after the British fashion retailer issued a full-year profit warning.
Mouchel hopes to return to growth December 19, 2011 Support services group Mouchel said it aims to return to growth in 2012, despite the looming loss of a £130m contract with Rochdale Council. The firm said the deal, over which it remains in mutual exit talks, would not make a big impact to operating profits or cash. Its pipeline has dropped from £2.2bn to [...]
Odyssey aims for Atlantic airline December 19, 2011 A British venture called Odyssey Airlines hopes to start non-stop all-business class flights from London City to New York and other locations using ten newly-ordered Bombardier CSeries passenger jets, aviation industry sources said yesterday.
US GDP set to grow as Eurozone shrinks December 19, 2011 STEADY growth in the US economy means interest rate cuts are no longer needed, said Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker (pictured right) in a speech yesterday. GDP will grow by between two and 2.5 per cent despite the Eurozone slowdown, he said, on the same day as PwC published grim forecasts for the major euro [...]
UK’s households facing hard times ahead of Christmas December 19, 2011 INCOMES took a further battering in November and consumers expect house prices to fall further into next year, according to today’s Nationwide consumer confidence survey which recorded a tiny rise in confidence. The headline consumer confidence index rose four points in the month to 40, still 37 points below its long run average of 77 [...]
Business services may drive economic growth December 19, 2011 RAPID growth in the business services sector offers hope for the UK’s economic recovery, the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) argued yesterday – but the think-tank also warned a Eurozone recession could cost the UK 70,000 jobs in the industry. Business outsourcing is forecast to help IT services to grow by 13.6 per [...]
UK is the fifth most charitable nation globally December 19, 2011 THE UK is the fifth most charitable nation in the world according to the Charities Aid Foundation. The World Giving Index, topped by the USA, shows that the world has become more charitable in the last year. The UK is the second most generous nation in monetary terms, with 79 per cent of Brits donating [...]
NEW CIVIL SERVICE BOSS December 19, 2011 INCOMING civil service boss Sir Bob Kerslake faced a grilling from MPs on the Public Affairs Select Committee yesterday. He sees himself as a “champion of change” and told the committee he would “provide visible leadership” for the civil service. Kerslake takes up the role on 1 January.
Poor pay largest share in duty December 19, 2011 Low-income households have paid a greater share of their income in tax on tobacco and alcohol than any other group in every year from 1997 to 2010, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. The bottom fifth spent 1.6 per cent of their disposable incomes on alcohol duties and three per cent on [...]
