Derwent sells bonds to beef up war chest May 17, 2011 CENTRAL London property group Derwent embarked on a money-raising drive to pay for acquisitions yesterday, selling off part of its Covent Garden estate and issuing £175m worth of convertible five year bonds. Derwent sold five properties in King Street and Floral Street to Capital & Counties, who paid for the £68m purchase in cash from [...]
Consumers expect a slight interest rate rise May 17, 2011 THE UK Consumer Prices index (CPI) annual rate of inflation rose to 4.5 per cent in April, up from four per cent in March and is now at its highest level since October 2008. This will increase the pressure on the Monetary Policy Committee to raise interest rates and a look at the YouGov SixthSense [...]
WPP Digital invests in nPario May 17, 2011 The digital arm of WPP has announced a $5m (£3.1m) strategic investment for a minority stake in nPario to improve data-driven decision making for marketers and advertisers. The alliance with nPario, a leading provider of technology designed to analyse consumer data for marketing, will ensure marketers and publishers have access to audience insights using multiple [...]
Publicis buys Rosetta for £354m May 17, 2011 Advertising group Publicis will buy US-based Rosetta Marketing for $575m (£354m) to improve its digital offerings. The acquisition will be the company’s third US digital advertising deal in recent years. Publicis plans to raise its target revenue from digital, which is seeing double-digit sales growth, from 28 per cent last year to 35 per cent [...]
Hilton Food in line with forecasts May 17, 2011 Hilton Food Group has said its trading is in line with expectations, and is set to continue that way for the remainder of the financial year, despite falling consumer spending. The meat packaging company has revealed that volumes continue to build at Tesco stores abroad, resulting in double-digit volume growth.
Experian results due out today May 17, 2011 In yesterday’s Best of Brokers column it was mentioned that results from consumer credit group Experian were due on Thursday. Experian’s full-year results will actually be released today, and we apologise for any confusion.
Walmart in overseas lift as US drags May 17, 2011 WALMART posted a bigger-than-expected jump in quarterly profit yesterday despite a further drop in sales at US stores. A strong performance overseas fuelled the profit as the US market lagged behind. Walmart’s international sales rose 11.5 per cent to almost $28bn (£17.2bn) for the three months to the end of April. Markets including China and [...]
Carrefour says Dia worth over £3.1bn May 17, 2011 FRENCH group Carrefour yesterday said discount chain Dia was likely to be valued at more than €3.6bn (£3.1bn) when it is spun off in July. The company believes separating Dia will allow it to focus on developing its own brand and highlight the value of the chain. It is under pressure to boost its share [...]
Wickes to buy 13 Focus shops from administrator May 17, 2011 FOCUS DIY’s administrators yesterday agreed the sale of 13 stores to Wickes Building Supplies, saving 345 jobs in the process. Ernst & Young said it was in “detailed discussions with a number of interested parties” over the sale of further stores. Focus went into administration earlier this month after being hit by the weak housing [...]
PROFIT DROPS FOR ENTERPRISE May 17, 2011 ENTERPRISE Inns’ six-month pre-tax profit dropped to £61m from £91m and adjusted pre-tax profit dropped to £74m from £86m last year. Revenue for the half year to 31 March 2011 totalled £346m compared with £374m in the previous year. Chief executive Ted Tuppen (left) said: “It is getting easier … we are working our way [...]
