Sir John Ritblat latest to launch a retail bond November 27, 2012 SCHOOLS provider Alpha Plus, chaired by property grandee Sir John Ritblat, yesterday became the latest company to tap the retail bond market to help raise £40m and pay down shareholder debt. The group, owned by Delancey’s DV4 fund, announced plans to launch a seven-year retail bond paying 5.75 per cent and secured against part of [...]
Pub meals help Mitchells and Butlers as it faces muted sales November 27, 2012 PUBS and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers yesterday reported a rise in full-year profit but like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks of the new year were flat, sending its shares down as much as five per cent. The owner of All Bar One, Harvester and O’Neills chains said alcohol duty increases and food price [...]
Helical Bar and Crosstree buy Silicon Roundabout portfolio November 27, 2012 HELICAL Bar and Crosstree have snapped up a site on Old Street’s “Silicon Roundabout” for £60.75m, the two property firms announced yesterday. The pair have exchanged contracts to buy the 3.1 acre site using cash and £30m bank debt. Crosstree, which is backed by pharmaceuticals billionaire and Alinghi founder Ernesto Bertarelli, will own a 67 [...]
VistaJet breaks records with its $7.8bn Bombardier plane order November 27, 2012 HIGH-END aviation firm VistaJet has placed a $7.8bn (£4.87bn) order for up to 142 aircraft from Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. The deal, which sent Bombardier’s shares up eight per cent, is the firm’s biggest ever business jet order. “By any standard, this is a historic order for Bombardier,” said Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, [...]
City scheme wins consent November 27, 2012 JAPAN’S second largest property developer has won consent for the redevelopment of an office block at Finsbury Circus in the City. Mitsubishi Estate Company announced yesterday that the City of London Corporation had granted planning consent for the 240,000 square feet scheme at River Plate House. The Wilkinson Eyre designed project will be redeveloped into [...]
Lending grows at Zopa November 27, 2012 Peer to peer lending has surpassed £250m at Zopa, the financial services group that bypasses banks. The latest lending figures are 90 per cent up on the same month last year. Giles Andrew, the Zopa co-founder says: “Passing the quarter of a billion milestone way up on just a year ago proves that increasing numbers [...]
Google boss responds on taxes November 27, 2012 The head of Google UK has hit back at political criticism over the firm’s tax affairs. Matt Brittin defended the tax the company pays in the UK yesterday, saying: “Google plays by the rules set by politicians.” Talking to Channel 4, he rejected Boris Johnson’s comments that Google pays “zero” tax. “Boris should get his [...]
Sony looks to sell battery unit November 27, 2012 Japanese powerhouse Sony has been approached by at least three investment banks offering to sell its battery business as the struggling Japanese group looks to offload non-core assets and focus on reviving its consumer electronics business, banking sources said. Selling the unit, which employs 2,700 people and had sales last year of $1.74bn (£1bn), would [...]
iPhone 5 sees Apple take bite out of Android November 27, 2012 THE LAUNCH of the iPhone 5 led to Apple regaining the initiative in the smartphone wars in recent weeks, data released yesterday showed. US sales of iPhones overtook those of smartphones running Google’s software, Android, during the 12 week period to 28 October, figures from researchers Kantar Worldpanel showed. It is the first time since [...]
Ericsson and Samsung in patent wars as licensing talks collapse November 27, 2012 ERICSSON, the world’s biggest telecom network equipment maker, said it was suing Samsung Electronics for patent infringement after two years of talks failed to yield a licence agreement. Sweden’s Ericsson, which reckons more than 40 per cent of the world’s mobile traffic passes through its networks, filed a lawsuit in the United States saying Samsung [...]
