US investor gives Home Retail a boost April 5, 2011 HOME Retail Group saw its shares jump yesterday after US private equity firm Madison Dearborn Capital Partners upped its stake. The Argos and Homebase owner issued a profit warning last month but was buoyed by the move from across the Atlantic. Tradewinds Global Investors, controlled by Chicago-based Madison, held 4.25 per cent of Home Retail’s [...]
WPP bets on eccentric magazine moguls’ plan April 5, 2011 VICE, the media group that includes the famous monthly magazine of the same name, has attracted funding from Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP, the leading communications agency, as part of a multi-million dollar fundraising. Vice has long had an anarchic reputation in the publishing world, not least because of bombastic statements from co-founder Shane Smith. Speaking [...]
Corporate lift for Park Group April 5, 2011 CHRISTMAS hampers and voucher specialists Park Group said it expects trading to be in line with market expectations for its year ending 31 March and Christmas 2011 orders are up five per cent year-on-year. Liverpool-based Park Group will report full results on 14 June, but said it had performed well despite the freeze before Christmas [...]
Carlsberg rebrands in bid to double profits by 2015 April 5, 2011 CARLSBERG, the world’s fourth-biggest brewer, is adapting a new global slogan in hopes of doubling its brand’s profits by 2015, the company announced yesterday. The new slogan – “that calls for a Carlsberg” – replaces one of advertising’s most famous taglines: “Probably the best beer in the world,” originally voiced by actor Orson Welles. Chief [...]
Quercus flies thanks to Larsson April 5, 2011 Quercus, the independent publisher behind Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, yesterday announced an eight-fold surge in profits to a record £7.5m. Quercus chief executive Mark Smith is building on the success of Stieg Larsson’s books – known as the Millennium Trilogy. Smith, who co-founded Quercus in 2004, is paying a first-ever dividend of 5p and [...]
McInerney folds seven firms April 5, 2011 McInerney Holdings Group has put seven of its UK units into administration, with the housebuilding group blaming the continuing poor health of the property market. The companies affected by the administration include McInerney Group, McInerney Homes, Alexander Developments (North East), Lancing Homes, Gold Homes, William Hargreaves and Bowey Homes. Several building projects in the Midlands [...]
Drax bounces after it settles tax issues April 5, 2011 SHARES in Drax Group rose three per cent yesterday after the firm agreed a tax deal to release £180m for the business. Drax, which owns the Drax coal-fired power station in Yorkshire, has settled tax issues linked to its Eurobond financing and other “minor legacy tax issues”, the firm said in a statement. Around £117m [...]
EnQuest could buy up North Sea fields after oil tax hike April 5, 2011 NORTH SEA oil producer EnQuest warned that the government’s recent tax raid on oil profits will make some smaller projects in the region impossible, but said it is well-placed to snap up projects as the hike dents asset values. EnQuest said it was “very disappointed by the recent unexpected UK Budget decision” to hike the [...]
Xstrata plots coal surge April 5, 2011 XSTRATA could raise its coal output by 80 per cent over the next five years to cash in on rising demand, according to a company presentation. Xstrata, which has taken mining analysts to its new Mangoola coal mine in Australia this week, could push its annual output to 145m metric tonnes by 2016, Nomura said [...]
National Grid hit by HSBC downgrade April 5, 2011 SHARES in National Grid shed 1.7 per cent yesterday as HSBC downgraded its rating on the power utility to “underweight” from “neutral”, on valuation grounds, underperforming a broadly weaker utilities sector. HSBC said in a note the networks regulation improvements are now priced in and failure to generate Ofgem savings could dilute long-term returns, while [...]
