Asian boost helps profits at Jardine Lloyd Thompson March 1, 2012 PROFITS at insurer Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT) increased by 13 per cent to £147.6m during 2011, assisted by strong growth from its emerging market units. Overall group revenue was up 10 per cent at £818.8m. Although European retail sales declined, the firm managed to increase revenue from its Asian division by 28 per cent to [...]
Blackstone goes to Bedfordshire for £250m Center Parcs venture March 1, 2012 CENTER Parcs, the private equity-backed holiday village operator, is to open a fifth site in Britain after a £1bn refinancing. The group said construction of the £250m park, in Woburn in Bedfordshire, will create 1,500 jobs and a further 1,200 in construction. Blackstone, which bought Center Parcs in 2006, will put another £100m into the [...]
CLASH OF THE PARTIES (SECOND PART) FOR RUDD March 1, 2012 Roland Rudd is not one for being fazed by party clashes. The formidable spin-meister’s splendid fiftieth birthday party last summer in his country-house near Glastonbury famously clashed with chancellor George Osborne’s fortieth birthday celebrations. One suspects some guests had a difficult choice to make but that didn’t stop around 500 of London’s business community, including [...]
SOUND OF THE CITY: BABBLE BAR OPENS ITS DOORS March 1, 2012 Babble Bar: so good they launched it twice. The Mayfair-established watering hole, sister of the LateNightLondon website, opened the doors to its new City location last Friday – and the celebrations continued last night. The venue was full to capacity with City workers and burlesque dancers wandering cocktail in hand between Babble’s four bars: the [...]
UK factories see rate of growth slow March 1, 2012 MANUFACTURING output and employment increased in February, new data showed yesterday, but the pace of expansion was slower than in January. The sector’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) from Markit fell from 52 to 51.2 in the month as new orders from the Eurozone fell. Any figure above 50 indicates expansion. Input prices rose at their [...]
House prices reverse January fall as confidence increases March 1, 2012 HOUSE prices rose across the country in February, according to data published yesterday – although asking prices for prime properties have taken a hit from the seasonal dip in buying activity. Average prices rose 0.6 per cent in the month, Nationwide figures showed, rebounding from the 0.3 per cent fall in January. Prices were up [...]
Xchanging profits slump after transition year for outsourcer March 1, 2012 OUTSOURCING firm Xchanging said yesterday it had seen an increase in potential contracts in the first weeks of 2012, as a restructuring implemented last year began to pay off. Xchanging posted an expected 23 per cent fall in adjusted operating profit to £43.2m but aims to return to growth next year. Cost cuts at the [...]
Eurozone hit by fall in jobs and output March 1, 2012 EUROZONE unemployment increased in January and manufacturing output fell again in February, new data revealed yesterday. Greece led the decline with a record fall in factory output, while Spain now leads the currency area in joblessness, with unemployment at 23.3 per cent. Overall Eurozone unemployment increased to 10.7 per cent in January, or 16.925m people, [...]
Stagecoach in UK rail boost March 1, 2012 STAGECOACH profits are driving forward fuelled by a strong performance at its rail operations in Britain, it said. The FTSE 250 transport company said Virgin Rail, a joint venture in which it owns a 49 per cent stake, was “progressing its bid” for the new West Coast Trains rail franchise which was put up for [...]
AstraZeneca appoints Johansson as new chair March 1, 2012 ASTRAZENECA has picked former Volvo boss Leif Johansson as its next chairman, hoping his experience of steering the truckmaker through tough times will help at a drugmaker facing shrinking revenues and a weak pipeline of new drugs. The 60-year-old Swede was chief executive of world number two truck maker Volvo for 14 years and his [...]
