ADVISERS INVESTEC April 12, 2012 KEITH Anderson and Chris Baird of Investec advised Melrose on yesterday’s secondary share placing. Anderson is co-head of corporate broking at Investec and has advised a range of top clients on their finances. He and Baird were recently appointed as a broker to Halma, a FTSE 250 UK technology provider, having advised the firm in [...]
Swatch snaps up watch case firm April 12, 2012 Swatch Group is buying high-end watch case maker Simon Et Membrez for an undisclosed sum, the group announced yesterday, in a deal that will improve its own production division. Simon Et Membrez, with 250 employees, will continue to trade under its name and will also carry on supplying third parties. The deal also includes a [...]
Online shoppers boost UK Mail April 12, 2012 UK Mail Group’s performance in the fourth quarter was in line with its expectations, the group said yesterday. Driven by increased online shopping, UK Mail reported a volume growth of 10 per cent. Its reported revenues for the quarter increased by 14 per cent, compared to the previous year. Total revenue growth for the year [...]
Price cuts hurt Carrefour’s sales April 12, 2012 Europe’s biggest retailer, Carrefour, reported lower first quarter sales than analysts had expected yesterday. First quarter sales were €22.5bn (£18.6bn). Sales fell 2.1 per cent, not including fuel, currency and calendar effects, while French hypermarket sales dropped 5.8 per cent. It said that its recently implemented ‘Reset’ plan for French hypermarkets had also hurt sales, [...]
Petropavlovsk sees 60pc rise in its gold haul April 12, 2012 RUSSIA-FOCUSED gold miner Petropavlovsk said gold production in the first quarter of 2012 rose 60 per cent on the same period a year ago, boosted by higher grades of the precious metal extracted from its Pioneer mine in Russia’s Far East. The company said it produced 120,800 ounces and is on track to produce its [...]
Churchill Mining seeks $2bn in coal dispute with Indonesians April 12, 2012 CHURCHILL Mining is heading to an international court of arbitration in May to fight for $2bn (£1.25bn) compensation in a dispute over an Indonesian mine that has one of the world’s biggest undeveloped coal reserves. Last week, Indonesia’s supreme court moved to reject an appeal by Churchill Mining which has been fighting Indonesia’s Nusantara Group [...]
Roche sales remain flat as Illumina bid battle rages April 12, 2012 SWISS drugmaker Roche dangled the prospect of a higher offer before reluctant US bid target Illumina yesterday along with broadly flat first-quarter sales supported by its top-selling cancer drugs. Genetics specialist Illumina has rejected Roche’s $6.7bn sweetened takeover offer and has also urged investors to vote against Roche’s bid to get its own nominees on [...]
Commercial property firms at their busiest in over two years April 12, 2012 COMMERCIAL property developers in Britain have enjoyed their busiest month in more than two years, according to research out today. Public sector work has expanded for the first time since February 2010, while private sector developers posted their first growth in nine months, figures compiled by Markit for Savills showed. Around one in four commercial [...]
Grainger is on track to pay down debt pile April 12, 2012 GRAINGER, the UK’s largest quoted residential landlord, said yesterday it expects a lift in the value of its UK portfolio and an improvement in sales when it reports its half year results next month. The Newcastle-based company, which operates in Germany as well as the UK, said completed sales from both portfolios in the six [...]
LONDON 2012 IMAGE OF THE WEEK April 12, 2012 JOHN Lewis, one of London 2012’s sponsors, has rolled out the official Olympic merchandise to all of its UK stores. It will now offer over 3,000 products, a small selection of which are shown above. Wenlock, the Olympic mascot, and Mandeville, the Paralympic mascot, feature heavily, alongside iconic symbols of London. Between now and the [...]
