As the Bribery Act takes effect, almost half of UK plc is unaware June 30, 2011 NEARLY half of UK businesses are still not aware of the UK’s new anti-corruption legislation, despite the Bribery Act finally coming into force this morning. A survey of 400 businesses across the country found that 46 per cent have no knowledge of the Act at all, according to business insurer QBE. Most worryingly, four in [...]
Lloyd’s sees far higher cost of Solvency II June 30, 2011 THE COST of bringing in new Solvency II insurance regulation will cost Lloyd’s of London far more than previously estimated, its finance head warned yesterday. The insurance market initially said it would spend about £250m to prepare for Solvency II, which will change the amount of regulatory capital it holds against different risks. But in [...]
RBS sells toxic loan book June 30, 2011 GOVERNMENT-backed Royal Bank of Scotland agreed a deal to offload a £1.4bn portfolio of toxic commercial property loans to US private equity giant Blackstone yesterday. City A.M. understands RBS will work with Blackstone to manage the package of property loans following the sale, which will remove the assets from its balance sheet. Blackstone will take [...]
Barclays offloads private equity assets for £460m June 30, 2011 BRITISH lender Barclays has sold a €520m (£460m) portfolio of private equity fund investments to French firm Axa Private Equity. Led by Bob Diamond, the bank is seeking to sure up its capital position in the face of tough new regulation. The lender said the portfolio included investments in private equity funds as well as [...]
Wood Group is on track June 30, 2011 Energy services firm Wood Group said its performance is on track this year, with “reasonable activity levels” in the North Sea and strong performance in the US. But the firm added that its oil and gas maintenance arm is being impacted by downtime on several projects. Investors yesterday approved a special dividend of £1.40 per [...]
Dixons’ Pixmania wins Carrefour deal June 30, 2011 Electronics retailer Dixons’ subsidiary Pixmania has signed a deal with French supermarket group Carrefour to develop its non-food internet offer. Pixmania – a leading multi-specialist e-tailer – will provide a multichannel website in a number of European countries for Carrefour’s non-food offer.
Southern Cross gets lending reprieve June 30, 2011 Troubled care-home provider Southern Cross yesterday said it had reached agreement with its lenders to extend its banking facilities until the end of July. The firm said the reprieve, plus its rent cut agreed in June, means the firm can focus on its restructuring process. The news sent its shares up 8.28 per cent to [...]
Synchronica buys Nokia arm for $25m June 30, 2011 Synchronica, the AIM listed mobile messaging services company yesterday announced the acquisition of Nokia’s Operator Branded Messaging Business in a deal worth $25m. The firm says the acquisition will provide it with a strong foothold in North America and increase its immediate user base from 3m to 10m worldwide.
TJ Hughes finally in administration June 30, 2011 Department store chain TJ Hughes finally slipped into administration yesterday, appointing accountants Ernst & Young to manage the process. Endless, the Liverpool-based owner of TJ Hughes, led a management buyout of the chain in March but has been unable to turn it around. Endless said TJ Hughes’ sales were “significantly down” on last year while [...]
BG shares jumps as Brazil reserves rise June 30, 2011 BRITISH gas producer BG Group said it had doubled its best estimate of its oil and gas reserves in Brazil’s Santos basin to 6bn barrels following new tests. The upgrade of the fields, co-owned with Petrobras and Spain’s Repsol, highlights the prospectivity of the area, which represents one of the industry’s largest new provinces in [...]
