Novus completes Balls Bros deal March 15, 2011 Novus Leisure, the privately-owned bar and club group, has acquired the Balls Brothers and Lewis & Clarke businesses out of administration, for a fee that could eventually exceed £7.8m. Novus has acquired 17 of the 19 Balls Brothers bars, of which 14 are in the City of London with the remaining three bars in Victoria, [...]
Shell exec pay up as growth plan revealed March 15, 2011 OIL giant Shell laid out ambitious production growth goals yesterday, as it revealed bumper 2010 bonuses for its top executives. Shell said it aims to invest $100bn (£62.4bn) in new projects over the next four years, to help boost production by 12 per cent to 3.7m barrels of oil per day by 2014. The firm [...]
Air Partner aids rescues March 15, 2011 PLANE hire company Air Partner more than doubled its pre-tax profit in the six months to the end of January to £2.9m, and the firm is set for further growth as it helps move people and supplies through countries hit by emergencies. The FTSE-listed company said its emergency planning teams were providing support for the [...]
Falkland Oil narrows its losses March 15, 2011 Falkland Oil and Gas narrowed its annual losses to $3.7m (£2.3m), from $5.5m (£3.4m) in 2009, as it drilled its first ever well in the East Falkland Basin in what it said yesterday was a “landmark year”. The oil and gas exploration company said it has identified deep-water areas for further drilling this year, and [...]
High prices boost Gem Diamonds March 15, 2011 Gem Diamonds reported a full-year pre-tax profit of £33.9m yesterday, up 39 per cent from 2009. The global diamond mining company expects to see rough diamond prices rise in 2011 because of greater demand from China and India. However, its stock fell 4.6 per cent to 248p yesterday on concerns over the impact of the [...]
G4S looks for new markets March 15, 2011 Security services company G4S is looking to make more acquisitions in developing nations such as Brazil and China this year after emerging market growth helped it deliver a 4.2 per cent rise in full-year profit to £527m, slightly above forecasts. Chief executive Nick Buckles told reporters the firm hopes to spend £200m on acquisitions this [...]
Mears sees strong growth March 15, 2011 Social housing provider Mears reported a 27 per cent rise in operating profit to £31.3m yesterday, and said its record £2.7bn order book means 93 per cent of its expected revenues for 2011 are secured. The firm said it will expand into new British regions to offset a tough funding environment in the public sector.
London house prices defy the UK slump March 15, 2011 LONDON’S housing market is bucking the trend of falling prices that continues to affect much of the rest of the UK, official data showed yesterday. Average prices across the country were down 1.4 per cent in January compared to December, leading to an annual increase of just half a per cent. However, in the capital [...]
New goods basket to measure prices March 15, 2011 DATING websites and smart phone applications are among new items included in the calculation of UK inflation rates, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday. The “basket of goods” used to measure changes in prices reflects technological shifts in Britons’ spending habits. Out go mobile phone downloads (such as ring-tones and wallpapers) and in [...]
Bank’s Weale: Tax hikes to come March 15, 2011 Rising government spending on pensions and healthcare will require a large shift in UK fiscal policies, according to a study co-authored by Bank of England policymaker Martin Weale. Taxes and spending will need to adjust by around 6.5 per cent of GDP to ensure different age groups are treated fairly, the report said.
