Westfield on target but silent over European plans May 25, 2011 AUSTRALIAN mall operator Westfield Group reconfirmed its earnings forecasts yesterday despite the impact of a lower US dollar, but kept tight-lipped about reports of plans to expand in Europe. Westfield has already ventured into the UK with the opening of Westfield London in 2008 and Westfield Stratford City, which is expected to open later this [...]
FSA fines Bank of Scotland May 25, 2011 Bank of Scotland, owned by Lloyds Banking Group, has been slapped with a £3.5m fine from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failures in how it handled certain customer complaints. The FSA added it had also secured £17m in compensation for customers, following complaints about the company’s retail investment products. Between July 2007 and October [...]
Costain wins water contracts May 25, 2011 Construction and engineering firm Costain yesterday announced two major water contract extensions worth £100m. The firm is in a joint venture to upgrade and extend Sandon Dock sewage treatment works in Liverpool, and has a contract to design and build wastewater schemes for Severn Trent. Chief executive Andrew Wyllie said he was pleased with the [...]
Revolt at Robert Walters AGM May 25, 2011 Shareholders yesterday refused to support recruitment firm Robert Walters’ pay package for directors at its annual meeting. Around 28 per cent voted against the remuneration report, with a further 10 per cent abstaining. Only 26 per cent of all shares were used to vote in favour of the pay package. Some directors were to receive [...]
Shake-up at Diageo sparks job cut fears May 25, 2011 DRINKS giant Diageo yesterday announced a shake-up of its international business with two senior executives leaving yesterday. Stuart Fletcher, (pictured right) president of Diageo International, and chief customer officer Ron Anderson (left) have quit the firm. Chief executive Paul Walsh said the company’s regions would be re-jigged, indicating that staffing would be reviewed. He said: [...]
Hogg Robinson in boost as business travel takes off May 25, 2011 CORPORATE travel firm Hogg Robinson shrugged off the latest volcanic ash cloud to hit Europe and unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, saying yesterday that short-term travel disruption was often good for business. “We don’t see this having any impact on our business at all. Whenever travel plans have to change, that creates [...]
Focus DIY to close after failing to find buyer as 3,000 jobs face axe May 25, 2011 HOME improvement retailer Focus DIY is to close with the possible loss of up to 3,000 jobs, after the administrator was unable to find buyers for the bulk of its stores, it was announced yesterday. Administrators at Ernst & Young said they had appointed retail consultants Gordon Brothers to advise on the sale of all [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: CAN HOGG ROBINSON KEEP UP ITS PROGRESS ? May 25, 2011 JULIAN CATER | COLLINS STEWART The four global players (including Hogg Robisnon) have only 18 per cent of the market, offering scope to gain share as clients look to consolidate their travel management providers. The net pension deficit reduced to £88.6m from £93.5m a year ago. RICHARD FINCH | EDISON I think Hogg Robinson has [...]
Sound Oil plans three new wells May 25, 2011 Independent oil and gas company Sound Oil hailed its most successful year yesterday despite significantly widening its losses at the end of 2010 to £15.9m from £2.9m the previous year, fuelled by a £14.2m loss on the write down of the Bangkanai asset in Indonesia. However, the company plans to work up a number of [...]
Telefonica job cuts widen May 25, 2011 Telefonica and unions want to extend a job reduction plan by two years, sources said yesterday, in a move that could lead to redundancies rising by an additional 2,500. Telefonica proposes extending the cuts over five years but lifting the number of redundancies in Spain to up to 8,500 staff. Unions have agreed to the [...]
