CPP to cut one in ten workers March 12, 2012 Troubled card insurer CPP is seeking to cut ten per cent of its UK workforce as the firm attempts to restructure its business in the aftermath of a damaging probe by regulators. The firm currently employs over 1,300 people and if not enough take voluntary redundancy by the end of March, the firm will consider [...]
Premier Foods secures lifeline March 12, 2012 Premier Foods, the company behind brands including Hovis and Mr Kipling, was thrown a lifeline by its banks yesterday after it was given more time to repay its £1.2bn of loans. The refinancing deal with its banks including Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland will see Premier’s repayment deadline extended from December 2013 to June [...]
Arena canters to a profit rise March 12, 2012 Racecourse owner Arena Leisure yesterday posted pre-tax profits of £4.2m, up 15 per cent, after the average attendance of its 352 events last year grew by 7.8 per cent to 1,941. The number of hospitality guests increased by 14 per cent to 51,500. But a cutback in the amount collected from bookmakers and distributed by [...]
Road to riches for €17.5m VW chief March 12, 2012 THE chief executive of Volkswagen received a €17.46m (£14.68m) pay package for last year after record results for Europe’s largest carmaker. Martin Winterkorn (right) received the award, including a €1.89m base salary and a €11.04m bonus, after VW posted a €11.3bn operating profit, which it aims to match this year. It also said 2012 sales [...]
Tullett plots a new FX platform ahead of fresh regulation March 12, 2012 TULLETT Prebon is set to launch an electronic platform for interbank currency trading in the run up to expected changes in the system of global regulation. The interdealer broker, led by City veteran Terry Smith (pictured), wants to use technology it already owns to build a foreign exchange trading platform, focused on currency derivatives at [...]
TAKEOVER DRAMA FOR STAGECOACH March 12, 2012 PERFORMING arts group Stagecoach has agreed to be bought by Lifeskills Education for £6.5m. Aim-listed Stagecoach will be taken private under the deal, with management exchanging their shares for stock in Lifeskills. Shirin Gandhi, owner of Lifeskills, said the firm has prospects for expansion “without the confines of the public markets”. Lifeskills is being advised [...]
Tiffany ramps up Swatch spat March 12, 2012 US jeweller Tiffany has filed a $590m (£377m) counter-claim against Swatch Group, the Swiss watchmaker said yesterday, in the latest volley in the companies’ feud over a failed deal to sell watches together. Tiffany’s claim in a Dutch arbitration court comes three months after Swatch, the world’s largest watchmaker, sued it for lost profits it [...]
Laird sells Chinese arm for £20m March 12, 2012 Engineering firm Laird has sold off its loss-making handset antennae business in China for £20m. The firm, which said it would exit the business last year after a strategic review, has offloaded the assets to Shenzhen Sunway Communications. It expects the deal to complete in the second half of the year.
Begbies says insolvencies falling March 12, 2012 Professional services group Begbies Traynor cut 30 of its insolvency practitioners last year as fewer UK companies went bust, it said in a trading update yesterday. The firm said low interest rates had helped to keep the insolvency market “subdued”, though it has been trading in line with expectations thanks to improved cost control and [...]
GOLDMAN GOES TO INDIA FOR A BOARD MEETING March 12, 2012 Goldman Sachs’ directors will be trading downtown Manhattan for upstart Mumbai as they hold their annual meeting in India for the first time ever. The 12 members of the board, including Indian steel billionaire Lakshmi Mittal (pictured), have decided to make the highly symbolic trip to the subcontinent in order to emphasise their “commitment” to [...]
