UK growth slows for Admiral as competitors crowd car market August 30, 2012 CAR insurer Admiral posted a seven per cent rise in half-year profits to £171.8m yesterday, but analysts raised concerns that the headline growth disguised a stall in sales momentum, sending its shares lower. Admiral’s turnover rose six per cent to £1.17bn, but it admitted the pace of UK customer and price growth slowed due to [...]
Unite chief warns that visa cuts may send wrong signal abroad August 30, 2012 THE CHIEF executive of student accommodation provider Unite said the government was “at risk of sending the wrong message” over its attitude to overseas students wanting to study in the UK after London Metropolitan university was yesterday stripped of its rights to sponsor visas. Mark Allan said: “There is a balance between the pressure on [...]
Pernod Ricard hands the reins over August 30, 2012 PERNOD Ricard yesterday said Daniele Ricard will replace her late brother Patrick Ricard, who died suddenly on 17 August, as chairwoman while Alexandre Ricard was named deputy chief executive. The drinks giant posted a nine per cent jump in annual profit to €2.1bn (£1.6bn).
Heston’s Dinner scores top for best meal out August 30, 2012 The Capitalist’s hectic schedule means she is no stranger to the odd business breakfast, so it was no surprise yesterday to see one of this column’s favourite morning haunts, The Wolseley, named as best restaurant for both business and breakfast. The breakfast hotspot pipped both Mayfair’s The Square and City favourite The Don to the [...]
PwC board member joins Duke of York in historic Shard abseil August 30, 2012 LEGEND has it accountants are a boring lot. So thank goodness for PwC’s Richard Oldfield, who’s attempting to bust that image by throwing himself off the top of Europe’s tallest building. Early next Monday morning, Oldfield will be hanging 1014m above the ground, ready to take part in the first – and only – abseil [...]
Vivendi in no rush to divest as profit slides August 30, 2012 VIVENDI reported a slide in first-half operating profit yesterday, hurt by tough competition at its French mobile phone business SFR, and announced a plan to reduce the unit’s operating costs by €500m (£396.1m) a year by the end of 2014. Vivendi also said it was in no rush to act on a portfolio review to [...]
Genmab signs with Johnson August 30, 2012 GENMAB yesterday agreed a deal that could be worth over $1.1bn with a unit of Johnson & Johnson for the rights to a cancer agent, giving the US company a 10.7 per cent equity stake in the Danish biotech group. Genmab said that J&J unit Janssen Biotech would obtain global licence rights to cancer agent [...]
China pays $5.6bn for Airbus to supply and assemble new jets August 30, 2012 CHINA signed an agreement with Germany for 50 Airbus planes worth over $4bn yesterday, the first significant order since a dispute between Beijing and Europe over emissions trading. The dispute between China and the EU has frozen earlier deals worth up to $14bn. China’s ICBC Leasing and Airbus, whose parent company is Franco-German-led aerospace group [...]
Obituary: Sir Rhodes Boyson August 30, 2012 11 MAY 1925 – 28 AUGUST 2012 THE former Conservative MP for Brent North, Sir Rhodes Boyson, has died at the age of 87 after a long illness. Boyson represented the north west London constituency from 1974 to 1997, finally losing the seat in Labour’s landslide general election victory of that year. He held several [...]
Euro 2012 lifts Perform profit August 30, 2012 DIGITAL sports rights company Perform Group reported an 84 per cent rise in first-half adjusted profit as the Euro 2012 football championship boosted advertising revenue and said the start to the second half of the year was positive. Revenue from display and video advertising, which account for 22 per cent of revenue, grew 190 per [...]
