Ex-Tory energy minister takes on role at 3Legs June 9, 2011 FORMER Tory energy minister Tim Eggar has been named as the new chairman of 3Legs, in his second appointment to the board of a growing oil and gas firm this year. Eggar is already chairman of Cape, the oil services group poised to move from the Aim junior index to London’s main market, as well [...]
Shale gas and oil specialist floats in London June 9, 2011 BRITISH shale gas firm 3Legs Resources has listed on London’s alternative investment market (AIM) in a deal valued at about £77.2m. The firm, which specialises in the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas resources, listed its shares yesterday at 190p per unit. 3Legs raised about £62.5m in new shares in order to exploit [...]
Rothschild and Hayward in £1bn float June 9, 2011 CITY financier Nat Rothschild and former BP chief executive Tony Hayward set out plans yesterday to raise £1bn in a flotation of their investment vehicle Vallares in London. The scion of the banking dynasty and former City heavyweight have joined forces to launch Vallares as a cash shell to acquire and expand high-growth but cash-poor [...]
Mittal-backed Ophir Energy plans £600m London listing June 9, 2011 OPHIR Energy, an oil and gas firm backed by Britain’s richest man Lakshmi Mittal, has said it plans to list on the London Stock Exchange in a deal that values the company at more than $1bn (£607m). The Africa-focused exploration firm is seeking up to $400m from an initial public offering (IPO) and is expected [...]
Mini contract gives UK’s car industry £500m lift June 9, 2011 BMW is ploughing an extra £500m into UK manufacturing with an agreement to build its next generation of Minis here. Chairman Norbert Reithofer said yesterday that the extra contract, for the next three years, demonstrates that “the UK will remain the heart of Mini production” and will take the company’s UK investment to more than [...]
PZ Cussons prices up as costs soar June 9, 2011 Cleaning products maker PZ Cussons said it would have to raise its prices to combat soaring costs of its raw materials yesterday. The maker of Imperial Leather soap said trading over the past year was in line with its expectations, but it had to put “mitigation plans” in place to deal with rising costs, such [...]
Argos slump adds to Home Retail’s woes June 9, 2011 SHARES in Argos owner Home Retail Group fell 13.3 per cent yesterday after it said the catalogue retailer’s sales fell more than expected in the past quarter. Argos was hit hard by customers’ reluctance to buy expensive electronics and big-ticket household goods, causing its sales to slump 9.6 per cent to £817m in the past [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HOW BAD WAS THE PERFORMANCE OF ARGOS? June 9, 2011 TOM GADSBY | MATRIX GROUP These are pretty dire figures. We expected another tricky quarter for Argos, but the like-for-like sales fall is well below the expected range. While the decline in profits over the past two years is cyclical rather than structural, a clear upturn in consumer demand would be needed for the shares [...]
Halfords defies retail gloom to post profit rise June 9, 2011 HALFORDS shook off the gloom hanging over the UK retail sector yesterday to announce a 7.2 per cent rise in pre-tax profit in the past year. Customers bought more car parts and fitted them at Halfords stores as they cut back on expensive services or new vehicle purchases, chief executive David Wild told City A.M. [...]
Spread better IG eyes profit rise this year June 9, 2011 SPREAD betting firm IG Group has said it expects to post an increase in full-year profits this year. The British company said it anticipated a three per cent increase in its full-year pre-tax profits to £163m in the year to 31 May. IG, which reports detailed annual results next month, also said it expected trading [...]
