Statoil confirms North Sea field now on stream November 8, 2010 The North Sea Gjoea field has come on stream, opening the way for more oil and gas activities in the northern part of the Norwegian North Sea, energy company Statoil said yesterday. The Gjoea field, which holds recoverable reserves of 40bn cubic metres of gas and 82m barrels of oil and condensate, is expected to [...]
CURSE OF THE AWARD STRIKES DOWN ROK November 8, 2010 HERE’S truly a shining example of that well-known Achilles heel among company directors – the curse of the award. Garvis Snook, the chief executive of building maintenance firm Rok, yesterday shocked investors by placing the firm suddenly into administration – but it wasn’t all that long ago that he was hopping up to collect gleaming [...]
Rok calls in administrator November 8, 2010 SOCIAL housing company Rok stunned investors yesterday by filing for administration less than two months after management declared its confidence in the business. The Essex-based firm, which employs 3,800 people, released a terse statement to the stock market yesterday and PricewaterhouseCooper were later appointed as administrator. The firm issued a profit warning in August, but [...]
Bovis maintains house sales but says market is still tough November 8, 2010 HOUSEBUILDER Bovis said yesterday its sales rate rose 14 per cent in the last four months compared to a year ago, and that it expects to see further growth at the start of 2011. The group has sold 1,900 homes in the year so far, around 1,600 of which were private homes and the rest [...]
COSTAIN SLASHES PENSION DEFICIT November 8, 2010 CONSTRUCTION and engineering group Costain was boosted yesterday after slashing its pension deficit by £22m after transferring its interest in six PFI investments into its pension scheme. Chief executive Andrew Wyllie (above) said the valuation realised on the investments was higher than expected.
Hiscox warns on impact of mild storms November 8, 2010 BERMUDA-based insurer Hiscox saw premiums remain largely flat in its third quarter trading update but warned that pricing pressure later this year will come to bear, particularly in the US. The firm yesterday blamed a lack of severe summer hurricanes for the likelihood of hot competition during the January policy renewal period. In years with [...]
Lancashire to return £213m in dividends November 8, 2010 INSURER Lancashire yesterday blew expectations out of the water with its third-quarter pre-tax profit of $107.6m (£67m) versus a consensus forecast of $82m. On the back of its success it has decided to return £213m to investors in a special 86p per share dividend, making it the first major non-life insurance firm in London this [...]
Asos eyes international November 8, 2010 ONLINE retailer Asos is pinning its hopes on overseas expansion as it announced a 59 per cent surge in profit yesterday. The company’s profit boost represented a £7m rise in the six months to September. Asos, which offers cut price fashions aimed at 18-34 year-olds, saw a 50 per cent rise in retail sales to [...]
Chinese fuel shops boost November 8, 2010 LONDON saw a 167 per cent increase in Chinese shoppers in October, compared to the same month last year. The rise has been fuelled by shoppers snapping up designer goods and a Chinese holiday which saw more holidaymakers than ever from the country. As well as the rise in customers the average spend was up [...]
Threshers fails in sell-off as creditors left high and dry November 8, 2010 FEWER than a third of Threshers stores have reopened as off-licences after the chain folded last year, administrators revealed yesterday. Only 400 of the firm’s 1,400 stores were sold, with most being bought by small off-licence chains, said accountancy firm KPMG which is still working on the administration. The other 1,000 were returned to landlords. [...]
