Debenhams in debt pile refinancing July 18, 2011 DEBENHAMS has refinanced its credit facility at reduced interest rates. Lenders for the department store chain’s £650m facility, made up of a £250m long term loan and £400m in revolving credit, have reduced the group’s cash interest rate by 0.50 per cent to four per cent. The lenders Barclays Capital, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal [...]
GKN snaps up Germany’s Stromag in £174m deal to boost land unit July 18, 2011 ENGINEERING giant GKN has secured a £174m deal to take over Germany’s Stromag, a leading manufacturer of clutches and brakes. The business is being bought from a private equity firm, a group of investors and management for a total of €164m (£146m) in cash and the transfer of €31m of Stromag’s debt, GKN announced yesterday. [...]
United Carpets in profit boost July 18, 2011 United Carpets yesterday reported an increase in profit for fiscal 2011, but said it remains cautious about the remainder of the year. In preliminary results for the year to 31 March, the company said its profit before tax increased 13.2 per cent to £1.24m from £1.1m last year. Excluding exceptional items, pre-tax profit was £1.48m, [...]
Fenner revenues on the rise July 18, 2011 Engineering group Fenner said today that third-quarter revenue will be up on last year after seeing strong demand from the coal sector. The group, based in Hessle near Hull, said a recovery in industrial markets had helped it to grow its conveyor belting and advanced engineered products divisions. Earlier this month it announced that its [...]
SThree to pay special dividend July 18, 2011 Recruiter SThree reported a 21 per cent rise in first-half profit yesterday and said it would pay a special dividend after seeing a recovery across its markets. SThree, which finds jobs for IT professionals in the finance, energy and healthcare sectors in Britain, Europe and Asia, posted a gross profit of £90m for the six [...]
Fall in London house supply July 18, 2011 A DROUGHT of available residential property in London is propping up prices and rents, a survey in the capital revealed yesterday. June’s stock for sale was down 20 per cent on the previous year, while there was a 30 per cent fall in available rental properties, according to estate agents Douglas & Gordon. “The shortage [...]
When it makes sense for the Top Dog to pitch July 18, 2011 FEW need reminding how treacherous current conditions in Europe’s equity markets are. Russia’s Valinor recently became the 25th pulled listing in Europe, Middle East and Africa so far this year and a 15 per cent downwards repricing of the Spanish bank Bankia yesterday underlined the fragility of investor appetite for new issues. So it is [...]
Mid-sized and large firms see a drop in insolvencies in last year July 18, 2011 MID-SIZED and large businesses have seen their fortunes turn around in the last year, with the number of insolvencies dropping notably. The failure rate of firms that employ 100 to 500 people more than halved last month, compared to a year earlier. The number of insolvencies for firms between 51 and 100 employees was also [...]
FSB calls for VAT breaks July 18, 2011 A temporary break from VAT should be granted to the tourism and construction industries to boost the economy, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) argued yesterday. VAT should be cut to five per cent for a year in the two sectors, the FSB said. “Consumer demand is a large barrier to economic growth so a [...]
US home builder sentiment up July 18, 2011 US home builder sentiment rose more than expected in July but remained near historic lows, the National Association of Home Builders said yesterday. The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index rose by two to 15 in July.
