Unite remains cautious despite its strong results November 16, 2011 UNITE, the student accommodation provider, said full-year profits would likely beat management expectations and it was well placed to outperform its rivals, but remained cautious over the economic outlook. In an update for the six months to 15 November, Unite said 99 per cent of its portfolio of 41,000 beds had been reserved for the [...]
British Gas plans job cuts to lower costs November 16, 2011 CENTRICA’S British Gas, the country’s biggest household energy supplier, said it would cut about 850 roles to lower costs just as official data showed unemployment hit its highest level in 15 years. The job cuts will take place in British Gas’ services business, which employs about 10,000 people, and will affect back-office management and support [...]
Broker owned by ex-Lehman pair thrives November 16, 2011 THE LONDON commodities broker run by two former Lehman Brothers executives has cashed in on months of global turmoil to increase sales and profit, the firm’s results show. Marex Spectron, which is controlled by JRG, a private equity house run by Jeremy Isaacs, the former head of Lehman in Europe and Asia, and Roger Nagioff, [...]
Walker Crips sees profits fall by 8pc November 16, 2011 WALKER Crips has announced that its pre-tax profits fell by 8.1 per cent in the six months to the end of September. Pre-tax profit at the broker fell to £830,000, while revenue rose seven per cent to £10.65m and gross profit increased by 2.5 per cent to £7.4m. The company was exposed to bankrupt brokerage [...]
Wessex boys shut funds as hedgie rout continues November 16, 2011 WESSEX Asset Management is closing three hedge funds, after a drop in assets under management and double-digit losses in 2011. The closure lengthens the list of hedge funds shutting down this year as the market turmoil keeps investors on the sidelines, making it tough for managers to raise assets. Assets of the long/short equity hedge [...]
Fear of delay over Olympus probe in UK November 16, 2011 BRITAIN faces a legal battle of more than a year if it tries to force Japanese executives of Olympus to go on trial in this country. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has opened an investigation into payments made by the camera firm and is working with the FBI and the US government, City A.M. understands. [...]
Melrose sales up 12 per cent November 16, 2011 British manufacturing buyout firm Melrose, which recently walked away from a bid for toolmaker Charter International, said its sales for the third quarter rose 12 per cent on higher orders. Melrose, which had circled Charter for months only to be beaten by a higher offer from US company Colfax, said slower growth in Europe was [...]
HICL sees net asset value rise November 16, 2011 Infrastructure investor HICL saw its net asset value per share (NAV) increase in the six months to the end of September. NAV rose to 111.5p at the end of September from 109.7p at the end of March. The value of HICL’s portfolio over the period rose 6.9 per cent to £719.3m from £673.1m at the [...]
Bain plans to ditch LinkedIn stock November 16, 2011 Investors cashed out of LinkedIn yesterday, with Bain Capital Ventures, one of its biggest shareholders, planning to sell the whole of its 4.3 per cent stake in next week’s secondary offering of shares. The sale marks the end of a lock-in period for a large proportion of the buyers of the networking site’s float issuance. [...]
Enquest production on track November 16, 2011 Exploration firm Enquest said oil production was up 20 per cent in the first half of the year and it was on track to hit full year estimates. Production to the end of October averaged 23,944 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), up 20 per cent on the 19,876 boepd for the equivalent 2010 [...]
