PwC sells remaining Rok units November 18, 2010 ADMINISTRATORS have been forced to break up the remainder of troubled housing group Rok after a sole buyer failed to materialise. Just 500 jobs out of a workforce of 3,800 look set to be saved after PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) found buyers for only parts of the firm. PwC said that it had sold parcels of the [...]
How to turn Cameron’s vision of an entrepreneurial decade into a reality November 18, 2010 DAVID Cameron has called on the nation’s “doers-and-grafters, inventors and entrepreneurs” to save us from our troubled finances. He’s not wrong. According to research commissioned by Enterprise UK, a rise of just one per cent in self-employment rates could boost the UK’s GDP by around 1.5 per cent and add approximately £22bn to the UK economy. [...]
Chaucer aims to grow car insurance arm November 18, 2010 INSURER Chaucer will expand its UK motoring operations as part of an ambitious new growth strategy. It says the push into motoring insurance will involve a “significant” presence on price-comparison websites. Chaucer wants to balance its exposure to the catastrophe business, which offers high returns but high volatility, with a greater input to the lower-risk [...]
Weir snaps up American Hydro Corp to boost its presence in renewable energy November 18, 2010 ENGINEER Weir Group has snapped up an American firm that makes wind turbines and hydro-electric power stations. The Glasgow-based group refused to say how much it is paying for American Hydro Corporation, which has revenues of £27m and assets worth £18m. Weir also said it would invest £6m in a new Canadia service centre, to [...]
BA wins appeal in cargo case November 18, 2010 BRITISH Airways (BA) yesterday won a high court battle to prevent hundreds of air cargo customers suing it in a US-style class action lawsuit. Two UK flower importers that sued BA in 2008 cannot represent all direct and indirect customers of the carrier, because there was no way to know if they had the same [...]
Melrose hires Rothschild to sell die-cast metal firm November 18, 2010 BRITISH manufacturing buyout firm Melrose said trading was slightly ahead of its own view and that revenue visibility remained healthy as orders were increasing. Melrose, which has grown by buying underperforming businesses, said it was confident that the year would end strongly and provide a good base for 2011. The company’s Dynacast business, which makes [...]
Wealthy Europeans pile into London property November 18, 2010 CASH-rich Europeans are rushing to invest in prime property in one of London’s most expensive postcodes, in a bid to protect their money amid growing fear over the stability of the euro, according to property firm Sandfords. The firm says cash-rich individuals from Europe currently account for 60 per cent of property purchases in London’s [...]
Station plans for Crossrail are unveiled November 18, 2010 LONDON Mayor Boris Johnson yesterday unveiled new station designs for Crossrail. Johnson showed pictures of eight new Crossrail stations, five of which are underneath Central London. The stations feature wide platforms, escalators and lifts to ease congestion. All stations will also have step-free access to platforms. Speaking at the event, Johnson said that Crossrail will [...]
Investec sells its Rensburg funds division November 18, 2010 INVESTEC, South Africa’s fifth-largest bank, is selling Rensburg Fund Management (RFM) for £45m, it said yesterday as it unveiled a six per cent hike in underlying operating profit. Franklin Templeton has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire RFM from Investec, which manages about £880m in UK equities, and is a small part of Rensburg [...]
Naked mining director wins €10m libel case November 18, 2010 A MINING director was yesterday awarded €10m (£8.5m) after a judge found he had been defamed by false allegations he made inappropriate, naked advances to a work colleague. Donal Kinsella, a director at Kenmare Resources, had been accused of making three trips to the door of a female fellow director late at night. The jury [...]
