Former M&S exec joins hotel group August 28, 2013 Former Marks & Spencer finance head Ian Dyson has added a new non-executive role to his portfolio by joining the board of Intercontinental Hotels. Dyson, who is a non-executive at Punch Taverns and is joining the Asos board in October, spent several years as the financial controller of Hilton Group.
Chime bullish despite sports slump August 28, 2013 Communications & sports marketing group Chime Communications yesterday reported a two per cent rise in pre-tax profit to £11.2m for the six months to 30 June. However, profits at its sports division slumped 40 per cent after a bumper Olympic summer last year proved a tough comparative. But the division, chaired by Lord Coe, is [...]
Randall & Quilter sees profit slide August 28, 2013 Insurance investment specialist Randall & Quilter saw pre-tax profit slide to £3m in the six months to 30 June. Chairman Ken Randall said the results were adversely affected by a decline in the values of investment assets. He said the outlook was “promising” and the full year would meet management expectations.
Smartphone gambling lifts bookies’ profits August 28, 2013 THE RISE of mobile and online gambling lifted the profits of two online gaming companies yesterday. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power reported a rise in pre-tax profits of 12 per cent for the first half of the year on the back of its online business. The group’s profits reached €77m (£66.4m), up from €68.7m in 2012, [...]
Analyst Views: What did you make of Paddy Power’s results? August 28, 2013 RICHARD STUBER NOMURA INTERNATIONAL “We see full year downgrades as reflective of one-off events and currency and not indicative of the underlying long-term growth potential of Paddy Power’s online businesses. We reiterate our ‘buy’ recommendation based on… its targeted retail expansion plans and its attractive balance sheet. IVOR JONES NUMIS “Even after recent falls Paddy [...]
EE’s 4G headstart reaches new milestone ahead of rivals’ launch August 28, 2013 EVERYTHING Everywhere (EE), the UK’s largest mobile network operator, announced yesterday that its superfast 4G mobile network is now available in over 100 towns in the UK. The news came ahead of rivals O2 and Vodafone launching their 4G networks today. EE, which owns Orange and T-Mobile, said yesterday it will continue rolling out its [...]
Johnston Press loses £250m August 28, 2013 REGIONAL newspaper publisher Johnston Press yesterday reported a pre-tax loss of £248.7m for the first half of the year. The publisher put the loss down to a £194.5m non-cash impairment charge on the value of its newspapers and a £57.9m write-down on the value of its printing assets. Revenues in the first six months of [...]
Twitter hires Ticketmaster chief to head its ecommerce efforts August 28, 2013 TWITTER has hired former Ticketmaster chief executive as its first head of commerce in a move revealed yesterday. Nathan Hubbard announced his hiring in a tweet yesterday, in which he described the social network as, “a cardiogram of the passion of the live moment”. While rival Facebook has experimented with ecommerce features such as coupons [...]
Warner calls in administrators August 28, 2013 COMMERCIAL property investor Warner Estate fell into administration yesterday after months of talks with lenders and partners failed – allowing Hansteen Holdings’ founders to return to the fund they sold to the company eight years ago. Warner, which managed around £700m of office and retail properties, hired CCW Recovery Solutions as administrator and said investors [...]
BoA Merrill to settle race suit August 28, 2013 BROKERAGE firm Merrill Lynch has agreed to pay $160m (£103m) to settle a class-action race discrimination lawsuit brought by a longtime US employee, an attorney for the plaintiffs confirmed on Wednesday. More than 1,200 current and former Merrill Lynch employees could be eligible to take part in the settlement, one of the largest sums obtained [...]
