Shares in Holidaybreak soar over takeover talks July 25, 2011 SHARES in Holidaybreak, the specialist holiday provider, rose 15 per cent yesterday after the company revealed it was in takeover talks. Holidaybreak, which provides outdoor education and adventure trips for school children, confirmed yesterday that it is in discussions with a third party, sending shares up to 367p last night to give a market cap [...]
Melrose wants access to Charter’s books before it raises its offer price July 25, 2011 INDUSTRIAL turnaround firm Melrose hit back at the board of its takeover target Charter International yesterday, claiming it could raise its offer further if shown evidence the engineering group was worth it. Charter has so far rejected two offers from Melrose, the most recent of which valued it at £1.4bn, as it believes Melrose undervalues [...]
WSP cuts workforce as profits drop July 25, 2011 ENGINEERING consultancy WSP Group has reported a lower first-half adjusted pre-tax profit, hurt by a squeeze in the UK public sector spending, and said it had cut its workforce by four per cent. Last month, the company had warned of posting lower 2011 results as the UK’s government cuts spending. The company said it expects [...]
Apple loss bites into Wolfson forecasts July 25, 2011 EDINBURGH-BASED chipmaker Wolfson Microelectronics slashed its sales forecast again yesterday in the face of a tough market for electronics goods that lack an Apple logo. The downgrade, its second in a month, sent shares in the maker of audio processing chips down 10.7 per cent to a 15-month closing low. The company reported second-quarter revenue [...]
Moonpig founder hits the jackpot July 25, 2011 JUST over a decade ago, Nick Jenkins was working as a trader in the Moscow office of commodities giant Glencore. His departure, both from the firm and the country, was hastened when he found a death threat pinned to his front door, the work of a rogue supplier he had helped send to jail for [...]
National Grid reaffirms outlook July 25, 2011 Electricity and gas provider National Grid has confirmed its positive financial and operational performance at the start of the financial year, and said it plans to invest £3.6bn in its businesses before March 2012. Sixty-five per cent of the firm’s investment will be domestically invested in its UK construction programme. The company said its financial [...]
Amplats sticks to 2011 targets July 25, 2011 The world’s largest platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, has maintained its 2011 output target and predicted a stronger second half. Costs remain a concern for Amplats, as the threat of industrial action over wages on output means that the company is likely to up wages to prevent a strike. Despite the impact of various external [...]
Premier completes Princes deal July 25, 2011 Premier Foods has completed the sale of its canned grocery operations to Princes. Last month the Office of Fair Trading raised competition concerns about the deal, and made the sale of the Fray Bentos pie brand and some manufacturing assets a condition of the deal. The cash sale is worth £182m, and will boost Princes [...]
Banks report small appetite for borrowing July 25, 2011 LENDING to companies, consumers and house-buyers remained muted in June despite a pick-up in the number of mortgage approvals, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) announced yesterday. Net unsecured lending to consumers continued its steady decline, down by £100m in the month – matching the six month average and the fall recorded in May. Lending to [...]
British Chambers of Commerce names John Longworth new director general July 25, 2011 LEADING industry group the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) yesterday unveiled John Longworth (pictured) as its new director general, taking over from David Frost. Longworth joins the BCC after an extensive series of high profile roles in the British retail sector. Formerly a senior executive at both Asda and Tesco, he is currently a non-exec of [...]
