Champneys holds up in downturn February 23, 2010 Champneys, the health spa resort chain popular with stars such as Kylie Minogue and Victoria Beckham, said yesterday that its offering had proved resilient in the economic downturn despite a widespread slump in discretionary spending. Champneys said it had posted year-on-year growth of nine per cent, while pre-bookings for March and April this year have [...]
Commerz hit by loan losses February 23, 2010 GERMANY’s second-largest bank Commerzbank remained mired in losses over 2009, after the group was struck by higher-than-expected trading losses, bad debt provisions and exposure to the crisis-hit monoline insurance sector. Commerzbank yesterday posted an operating loss of €2.27bn (£1.99bn) for the past financial year, compared to a €5.45bn loss in the depths of the financial [...]
AstraZeneca agrees to pay £500m in HMRC settlement February 23, 2010 ASTRAZENECA has paid Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) £505m to settle a tax dispute. The Anglo-Swedish drugs company owes the government over so-called transfer pricing – the price at which a group sells goods or services from one section to another. Astra will pay £350m next month and a second installment of £155m in [...]
Good results help Minerva February 23, 2010 Minerva completed an astonishing turnaround yesterday as it reported healthy profits, pointing to a sea change in the UK commercial property market. The real estate giant behind the iconic Walbrook building on Cannon Street reported after-tax profits of £45.6m for the second half of last year, compared to a loss of £186.7m in 2008. The [...]
The Walbrook is about to strike gold February 23, 2010 FOR those who like playing the waiting game, Minerva is a good bet. As expected, it swung to a profit while its net asset value (NAV) per share also continued to edge up, to 102p in December from 95p a month earlier. There were no major letting announcements, however, which will come as a surprise [...]
Telecoms giants welcome cross-party findings that a phone line tax is unfair… February 23, 2010 Telecoms heavyweights have thrown their support behind select committee findings that a phone line tax would be unfair for consumers. The cross party business innovation and skills committee said yesterday the plans would tax the majority to provide super fast broadband to the few. The £6 annual tax has been expanded from its initial focus [...]
… while claiming new file sharing policy won’t work February 23, 2010 The government’s defense of its Digital Economy Bill calling for internet service providers to ban known file sharers has been rubbished by telecoms firms. An internet petition called for the rules, designed to stop piracy of content including films, books and music and backed by business secretary Lord Mandelson, to be scrapped as they could [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: WHAT DO PENDRAGON’S RESULTS MEAN FOR THE CAR MARKET? February 23, 2010 TIM RICHMOND | ARDEN Overall, these results are encouraging and represent the first step in the recovery story. We believe the shares are undervalued, but expect shares will perform when the other profit growth expected in 2010 becomes apparent. Used car margins are stable and are expected to remain so. ERIC WALLBANK | ERNST & [...]
Scrappage scheme helps Pendragon boost profits February 23, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest car dealership Pendragon bounced back to profit last year – following a boost from the car scrappage scheme. The company posted underlying pre-tax profits of £10.1m for the 12 months to 31 December, compared with a loss of £33.6m in 2008. But it warned that the market would not be returning to pre-recession [...]
Approvals of home loans drop sharply February 23, 2010 MORTGAGE approvals fell sharply in January in response to inflated December activity and adverse weather conditions, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said yesterday. Data from the BBA showed that the number of mortgage approvals for house purchase fell to 35,083 last month from an elevated 45,650 in December, which had been boosted by the end [...]
