Total sells its UK forecourts June 21, 2011 GERALD RONSON’S service station business is among a consortium that has snapped up 810 UK outlets from French oil giant Total in a deal worth hundreds of millions of pounds, the firms announced yesterday. Ronson’s Snax 24 business, which he set up 45 years ago, has teamed up with Investec and new investment firm Grovepoint [...]
MEET THE ADVISER: GROVEPOINT CAPITAL June 21, 2011 BRADLEY FRIED GROVEPOINT CAPITAL BRADLEY Fried led the advisory for Grovepoint Capital, which also raised finance for the deal. Born in South Africa, Fried began his career in New York with McKinsey & Co. He moved to London in 1999 to join Investec Bank in the UK. He was chief executive at the bank until [...]
Jupiter team nets £63m in share placing June 21, 2011 EDWARD Bonham Carter and other shareholders in Jupiter Asset Management have sold more than 25 per cent of their holding in the fund manager through a share placement, netting a total of almost £63m. The sale of 26.9m shares – equal to 5.7 per cent of the company – came as a lock-in period on [...]
Sell-off provides a buying opportunity June 21, 2011 WHEN fund managers sell off shares in the firm they work for, it hardly inspires confidence. So it is unsurprising that shares in Jupiter tumbled two per cent yesterday, after Edward Bonham Carter et al sold stock representing 5.7 per cent of Jupiter’s issued capital. However, Bonham Carter sold just 550,000 shares – only 12 [...]
Have your say on the Greek crisis and the future of the single currency June 21, 2011 THIS week we are asking our weekly readers’ panel, run in association with PoliticsHome.com, for their views on the likelihood of a Greek default, the UK’s role in an international bailout, and how the future of the euro has been affected by recent instability. To have your say on the above issues and more, you [...]
MPs hit out at Orange June 21, 2011 EVERYTHING Everywhere, the joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile, faced criticism from MPs yesterday over profit it stands to book on the sale of radio waves. Orange, which acquired the spectrum for free in 1991, must now offload it as part of its merger agreement with Ofcom, with analysts estimating it is worth around £450m. [...]
Carnival is knocked by fuel prices June 21, 2011 CRUISE operator Carnival has revealed an 18 per cent slip in second-quarter earnings, as higher fuel prices hit a growth in revenue. The world’s largest cruise operator, which owns the Cunard brand, reported a pre-tax profit of $206m (£127m) for the quarter ended 31 May, down from $252m a year earlier. The profit equates to [...]
Dealogic to delist from London AIM June 21, 2011 FINANCIAL data provider Dealogic has said it intends to delist from London’s alternative investment market (Aim). The company, which offers research and analysis to investment banks, plans to delist next month, subject to shareholder approval. Management at the firm will hold a shareholder meeting on 7 July to seek approval for the plans, with delisting [...]
Aegon sets targets and resumes dividends June 21, 2011 DUTCH insurer Aegon said yesterday it would target seven to 10 per cent annual earnings growth and resume dividend payments, as it unveiled a new strategy after repaying Dutch state aid. Earlier this month, Aegon became the first Dutch financial institution to repay the state in full, repaying the government €4.1bn (£3.6bn) to open the [...]
Jefferies profits disappoint June 21, 2011 JEFFERIES Group, a mid-sized US investment bank, posted a bigger-than-expected drop in quarterly earnings as rising costs outpaced a revenue increase. Profit fell to $80.6m (£49.6m), or 36 cents per share, in the second quarter ended 31 May, from $83.8m, or 41 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected earnings of [...]
