Exclusive: Hard Rock eyes opening of a London hotel September 4, 2013 HARD Rock International is on the hunt for a new site in London – where its first iconic cafe was born – with the view of launching a luxury hotel in the capital. The group, famed for its collection of rock and roll memorabilia, has applied to trademark the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino brand, [...]
Prezzo picking up the pace of growth with new restaurants September 4, 2013 PREZZO said yesterday it is enjoying a bigger slice of the restaurant market after opening seven new outlets in the six months to the end of June. The pasta and pizza provider posted a 17 per cent rise in revenues to £79.7m while pre-tax profits rose from £7.5m to £8.2m. Prezzo said it will open [...]
UK firm plans £42m AIM float to boost German bus expansion September 4, 2013 BRITISH investment group Marwyn Management has confirmed that it is looking to float its transport subsidiary and raise around €50m (£42m) of new capital. Marwyn European Transport (MET) specialises in the German bus sector, which is highly regulated and fragmented. MET believes this presents an opportunity to build up a substantial business and profit via economies of [...]
Volvo plans cost cuts to try and stem its losses September 4, 2013 VOLVO Cars said yesterday it aimed to break even this year, banking on a pick-up in China and cost cuts to turn around a first-half loss. It is seeking to take on larger global luxury brands such as BMW, Daimler’s Mercedes and Volkswagen’s Audi and win a market share big enough to foot the bill [...]
Spanish regulator opens probe into claims car sellers fix prices September 4, 2013 SPAIN’S antitrust regulator CNC said yesterday it is investigating possible price-fixing in the country by some of the world’s largest car firms. The probe will examine evidence that affiliates of, among others, Volkswagen, Renault, Peugeot, Toyota, General Motors and Ford shared market-sensitive information to set prices and service contracts. “These are considered very serious (alleged) [...]
Blavod Wines loses £619,000 September 4, 2013 Shares in Blavod Wines and Spirits tumbled over 11 per cent yesterday on news that the drinks brands firm had made an operating loss of £619,000 for the year ending 31 March. Of the losses, £299,000 was due to the cost of an acquisition which was not completed and £320,000 related to ongoing activities. The [...]
Ladbrokes breaks into Australia September 4, 2013 Bookmaker Ladbrokes has broken into the Australian market by buying the owner of online bookmaker Bookmaker.com.au and sports marketing firm Panda Gaming. Ladbrokes said yesterday it had agreed to pay an initial A$22.5m (£13m) for Gaming Investments, giving it a low cost entry into the regulated and growing Australian sports betting market. Launched in February [...]
Panasonic bows out of consumer smartphone race September 4, 2013 PANASONIC will pull out of the smartphone market in Japan and pare its smartphone operations to outsourced production in emerging markets like India, its president said yesterday. The electronics company, which has suffered $15bn (£9.6bn) in losses over its latest two financial years, is staking its future on switching from a consumer gadget maker to [...]
Delta hopes to bolster its fleet with order for 40 Airbus planes September 4, 2013 DELTA Air Lines yesterday ordered 40 Airbus planes in a deal valued at about $5.6bn (£3.58bn) at list prices. The order includes 30 A321 narrowbody planes as well as 10 A330-300 widebody aircraft. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery between 2015 and 2017. Delta operates a fleet of Boeing and Airbus planes. The deal marks [...]
Subsidies to lift gas storage too costly, say MPs September 4, 2013 THE UK decided yesterday against intervening in the energy market to boost gas storage capacity, saying that subsidising projects would be too expensive for taxpayers. Gas stocks in the UK, Europe’s biggest gas consumer, were near depletion last winter when a prolonged cold spell boosted demand. At the time, the government commissioned a report to [...]
