Deals driven by foreign demand January 5, 2011 MID-MARKET deals of up to £500m jumped in value by 66 per cent last year, according to research by accountants Grant Thornton. Last year saw 2,163 deals at this level, worth £38.9bn in total, versus 2,021 deals worth £23.5bn in 2009. The jump was driven by foreign and private equity bidders. But most of the [...]
Tribunals cost firms £8,500 each, says BCC January 5, 2011 EMPLOYERS face costs of thousands of pounds from spurious employment claims, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) claimed yesterday. Tribunals are “overwhelmingly weighted in favour of the employee,” causing companies to pay large settlements even for claims with no substance, the BCC’s report said. The average cost for an employer to defend themselves at tribunal [...]
High demand for first euro bailout bonds January 5, 2011 AN auction of the first region-wide Eurozone bonds was concluded within the hour yesterday, as the European Commission found itself inundated with demand for the five-year notes. It sold the targeted amount of €5bn (£4.3bn), with the proceeds going to prop up the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (ESFM), the bailout fund that is part-funding Ireland’s [...]
China-Spain deals to be worth $7.3bn during visit January 5, 2011 DEALS signed between Chinese and Spanish companies during the visit of Chinese vice premier Li Keqiang to Spain are expected to total $7.3bn (£4.7bn) by the time Li leaves today. The deals are said to cover 16 sectors, including telecoms, banking, energy, transport and agriculture. In one agreement, Spanish bank Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria announced [...]
Portugal’s debt nearly doubles in cost at sale January 5, 2011 PORTUGAL saw borrowing costs soar at its first debt auction of the year yesterday, with yields on the sale of six-month notes reaching a new record of 3.7 per cent – up by an eye-watering 170 basis points since its last six-month bond auction in September. However, at these rates, demand was higher than previously, [...]
HMV shares dive as profit warning hits January 5, 2011 SHARES in HMV Group plunged by more than a fifth at one stage yesterday as it issued a profit warning while admitting that it was struggling to meet the terms of a loan covenant. The music and DVD retailer – which also owns Waterstone’s bookshops and a string of live venues – plans to close [...]
Domino’s sales top forecasts January 5, 2011 THE country’s biggest pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza yesterday said it expected its 2010 pre-tax profit to beat market forecasts following a strong finish to the year, sending its shares to an all-time high. Domino’s, which operates the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, has excelled through challenging economic conditions as cash-strapped [...]
Next sees snow knock £22m off Xmas sales January 5, 2011 NEXT posted a slightly-worse-than-expected fall in underlying store sales at Christmas, blaming the hit to trade from snow in December. It said that even though it lost an estimated £22m of sales because of the snow it was still in line to hit forecasts. The group, which runs over 500 stores in Britain and Ireland, [...]
John Lewis boosted by Christmas sales surge January 5, 2011 JOHN Lewis Partnership reported bumper Christmas sales, despite the snowy conditions that robbed other retailers of a seasonal boost. Sales at its John Lewis department stores in the five weeks to 1 January were £545m, up 8.9 per cent from a year before. The strong performance was driven by its electrical and home technology department, [...]
CITY VIEWS: CAN YOU SEE YOURSELF BUYING GOODS OR SERVICES THROUGH YOUR SMARTPHONE? January 5, 2011 ADRIAN MILNE | ACCENTURE “Yes. I really like the idea of purchasing food – and especially pizza – through my smartphone” ANDREW HIBBARD | TRANSATLANTIC REINSURANCE I’m on the fence. I could see myself buying from Amazon but with items like clothes, I’d much rather try them on” KEIR MCCARTHY | BULLHORN “Definitely. In fact, [...]
