Aegis snaps up MediaVest in £95m deal July 11, 2011 LONDON-LISTED marketing group Aegis has bought media planning and buying agency MediaVest, in a deal valued at about £95m. The communications firm has acquired 75 per cent of the company and has an option to buy the remaining 25 per cent it does not own from 2016. Aegis paid an initial £27m, which gives consideration [...]
Passengers flock to Heathrow July 11, 2011 HEATHROW enjoyed its third consecutive month of record passenger numbers in June – but freight volumes were hit by the fragile economic recovery. Airport operator BAA said 6.1m passengers travelled through Heathrow in June, a 6.3 per cent increase on the same month last year. The figures represented the highest number of passengers for the [...]
Computer games industry calls for tax relief to halt exodus of talent from UK July 11, 2011 BRITAIN’S computer games industry has called for a tax break to prevent the so-called brain drain that has seen 20 per cent of UK companies lose staff to jobs overseas in the last 12 months. TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry, yesterday warned that large-scale emigration of skilled and experienced staff [...]
Bayfield Energy raises £54m through UK listing July 11, 2011 BAYFIELD Energy, the Caribbean oil-explorer founded by former Burren Energy executives, has completed its initial public offering on London’s alternative investment market (AIM), raising £54m. The group placed 90m shares at 60p each on AIM yesterday, and will be valued at around £130m when existing shares are included. The oil and gas explorer has key [...]
BLOOMSBURY CAUTIOUS ON TRADING OUTLOOK July 11, 2011 HARRY Potter publisher Bloomsbury Publishing said yesterday it remains cautious about trading due to soft revenues and “difficult prevailing retail conditions”. The publisher said the current consumer economy is the worst it has been for decades. Bloomsbury, which publishes the Harry Potter series in the UK, also said yesterday that it has bought Continuum International [...]
Yell buys US technology start-up July 11, 2011 DEBT-RIDDEN directories group Yell has agreed to buyout a US technology start-up for up to $20m (£12.5m). Yell will purchase privately owned e-commerce company Znode, paying $18m in cash. The struggling Yellow Pages publisher will also settle the tech firm’s existing net debt of $1.2m. The market responded well to the acquisition, with shares in [...]
Michael Page in permanent roles boost July 11, 2011 RECRUITMENT company Michael Page International has posted a 32 per cent jump in second-quarter gross profit, driven by a rise in permanent placements and international expansion. Michael Page, which finds jobs for people in the financial, accounting and legal services sectors, said it expected 2011 profit to be broadly in line with current market estimates [...]
Japanese quake hits Renault July 11, 2011 RENAULT pared its forecast for a rise in the global auto market this year after disruption from the Japanese earthquake and said Europe, a key market for the French carmaker, will lag the rest of the world. Renault, whose partner is Japan’s Nissan yesterday predicted a 3-4 per cent rise in worldwide sales volumes in [...]
Lonza snaps up American rival Arch in £750m deal July 11, 2011 DRUGS industry supplier Lonza is buying US-based Arch Chemicals for some $1.2bn (£750m), making it the world’s largest player in the multi-billion dollar microbial control market, the groups said. The move, which boosts Lonza’s life science unit and also helps protect the Swiss group against the impact of the strong Swiss franc, puts Lonza in [...]
Corporate Britain paying £5bn more than necessary into retirement plans July 11, 2011 CORPORATE Britain is overpaying at least £5bn a year into pension schemes, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). UK-based firms are failing to calculate the gains that can be made over the longer-term, leading them to pay more than necessary into defined benefit pension schemes. Outmoded ways of calculating the contributions needed to cover future [...]
