UK firms say extra Heathrow runway must be on the table June 25, 2012 TRANSPORT firms and business groups have urged the coalition to break a decades-long impasse on UK aviation policy and make transparent plans to address capacity issues at Britain’s airports. Airport operator BAA, British Airways owner IAG, Virgin Atlantic and the British Chambers of Commerce are among a group lobbying for a long-term plan by the [...]
Essar hit by tax case but plots FTSE 100 return June 25, 2012 ESSAR Energy, recently demoted from the FTSE 100, said yesterday its future was bright despite a tax dispute with authorities in India. The company said January’s ruling against tax breaks had pushed it to a pre-tax loss of $1.1bn (£707m) for the 15 months to 31 March. Essar changed its accounting period during the year [...]
The right problems to have June 25, 2012 IT’S a tough time to be an Indian energy giant. The rupee is on the slide, and the Reserve Bank of India’s announcements yesterday, intended to calm markets, were poorly received. Earlier this month, Standard & Poor’s said India may be the first Bric nation to lose its investment grade credit rating. London-listed Essar however, [...]
Morrisons’ finance chief checks out in surprise supermarket exit June 25, 2012 BRITAIN’S fourth biggest grocer Wm Morrison Supermarkets said group finance director Richard Pennycook will leave the business next June after eight years at the firm. The grocer said yesterday that Pennycook had informed the board he would concentrate on building “a portfolio career”. “I feel that it’s the right time to seek new challenges,” he [...]
Kewill pencils deal close date as Symphony deadline looms June 25, 2012 KEWILL, the British software firm at the centre of a takeover battle, yesterday said its £102.7m acquisition by the Francisco Partners Funds could complete as soon as next Thursday. The deal is still subject to approval, for which a meeting has been scheduled for 3 July. But one remaining hurdle in Francisco’s race to success [...]
Dods drops bid for Emap arm June 25, 2012 Politics and public affairs publisher Dods has backed out of its planned £12.8m acquisition of DeHavilland Political Intelligence from private equity-owned Emap. The board announced its decision yesterday after the deal was referred to the Competition Commission by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) last week. Both Dods and DeHavilland supply political monitoring and polling [...]
Panmure Gordon profit boost June 25, 2012 Stockbroker Panmure Gordon said its UK business has been profitable for “each month of the year so far” as it reported an upbeat forecast at yesterday’s AGM. Chairman Ed Warner said it was “encouraging to report an increase in both institutional equity commission and investment banking revenue” despite the global financial crisis. The firm also completed [...]
BarCap commodity investors flee June 25, 2012 Barclays Capital said investors withdrew $8.2bn (£5.3bn) from commodity investments in May, the largest outflow in eight months. Barclays blamed a “perfect storm” of downgrades, lacklustre macroeconomic data and the ongoing Eurozone debt crisis.
Regus launches office space on the motorways June 25, 2012 BUSINESSES will soon be able to schedule meetings at motorway service stations, thanks to a new office deal signed by Regus. The serviced office provider, which already offers desk spaces at European train stations, will open three roadside centres in September, where businesses can make use of meeting rooms, office facilities and admin services. A [...]
Birds Eye sale set to be frozen as Permira hunts for growth June 25, 2012 PRIVATE equity house Permira could call a halt to the sale of frozen foods maker Iglo after deciding a €2.5bn (£2.01bn) joint bid from Blackstone and BC Partners had come in short. Permira is happy to retain and continue to grow Iglo, which it bought from Unilever in 2006 for €1.7bn before bolting on Findus [...]
