Direct Line Group planning more jobs cuts after announcing float September 16, 2012 INSURANCE firm Direct Line Group is expected to announce further job losses after confirming the terms of its long-awaited initial public offering on Friday. Chief executive Paul Geddes confirmed to reporters that more staff are set to lose their jobs in a bid to cut costs at the firm, on top of the 891 job [...]
Apax ready to make a loss in Marken sell off September 16, 2012 PRIVATE equity firm Apax is set to sell medical courier company Marken at a huge loss after receiving a number of first round bids for the troubled business. Apax, which bought the blood and vaccine supply shipping business from Intermediate Capital Group in 2009 for roughly £975m, is selling the firm after finally failing to [...]
Royal fashion favourite Amanda Wakeley gets investment boost September 16, 2012 FASHION label Amanda Wakeley, the British designer beloved of Kate Middleton and Hollywood stars, yesterday announced it had won the backing of a Middle Eastern private equity investor to help develop the business into a household name. AGC Equity Partners, which is headquartered in London with offices in the Middle East, will make a multi-million [...]
Alliance Boots buying stake in Chinese firm September 16, 2012 ALLIANCE Boots, the owner of Europe’s largest pharmacy chain, announced yesterday it will buy a 12 per cent stake in China’s Nanjing Pharmaceutical at a cost of around £56m. The deal, initially announced more than a year ago, will strengthen Alliance Boots’ ties with China’s government and regulators. Alliance Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina, who [...]
SuperGroup is latest Brit firm facing rebellion September 16, 2012 SUPERGROUP directors face the possibility of a shareholder rebellion at this week’s annual meeting after advisory bodies criticised the fashion retailer’s plans for executive pay. Both PIRC and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) last week raised objections to SuperGroup’s remuneration report, which if passed will see new chief operating officer Susanne Given receive shares [...]
JJB carve up set to give the lion’s share to Sports Direct September 16, 2012 THE SALE of doomed sports retailer JJB is set to be completed early this week, with the biggest slice of the firm’s 180 UK stores to go to Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. Sources close to the deal said last night that the sale to Sports Direct, being handled by KPMG, was nearing completion although talks [...]
Paralympics lift footfall in West End by a fifth September 16, 2012 FOOTFALL in the West End surged by nearly a fifth during the Paralympic games compared to the year before as retail spending in the area bucked the August gloom, data out today reveals. Figures obtained by Springboard, which monitors high-street shopping numbers, shows footfall in the areas around Piccadilly and Leicester Square increased by 18.7 [...]
Weighing up the market’s odds after St Leger day September 16, 2012 FOR fans of horse racing, there was only one place to be this weekend: Doncaster. It was the annual running of the St Leger, a classic race given extra spice by the prospect of seeing Derby winner Camelot repeat the feat of the great Nijinsky and win flat racing’s Triple Crown. For investors of a [...]
Payday lender Wonga trebles its 2011 profit September 16, 2012 SHORT-TERM loan provider Wonga.com more than trebled its earnings last year, benefiting from a surge in applications by cashstrapped Britons, many of whom have had difficulty obtaining shortterm credit from mainstream banks. Net income rose 269 per cent to £45.8m with revenue growing at the same rate to £185m, the company said yesterday. Wonga offers [...]
Supermarkets slate minimum alcohol pricing September 16, 2012 SUPERMARKETS have hit out at plans for minimum alcohol pricing, despite being told they could make up to £2.2bn in extra profits under proposals to curb binge drinking. Public responses to David Cameron’s plans to introduce a price floor are set to be invited in the coming weeks, with drinks manufacturers set to campaign against [...]
