Ryanair loses Aer Lingus case July 28, 2011 Ryanair was yesterday dealt a blow by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, which ruled that the budget airline’s stake in Aer Lingus can be probed by UK watchdogs. Ryanair, the biggest shareholder in Aer Lingus, has previously had two hostile bids for the firm blocked under monopoly law. Ryanair said it plans to appeal, after arguing [...]
Shell signs £300m redevelopment July 28, 2011 Property developers Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar have won a £300m contract to redevelop Royal Dutch Shell’s headquarters near Waterloo station, Shell confirmed yesterday. The two developers will each contribute £150m to the deal, which will see houses, offices and shops built on the five-acre site surrounding the 1950s tower in central London. Shell [...]
FULL STEAM AHEAD AT NATIONAL EXPRESS July 28, 2011 BRITISH transport group National Express has reported a 26 per cent rise in first-half underlying profit and chief executive Dean Finch said he was bullish about further growth in the second half. The coach, bus and railway services operator said underlying profit for the six months to the end of June rose to £95.5m, which [...]
WOULD YOU LIKE A WILL OR DIVORCE WITH THAT? July 28, 2011 WHEN the Legal Services Act was announced last year, it was quickly dubbed the Tesco law, due to rumours it could encourage supermarkets to start offering legal services to their customers. But come Monday the moniker may have to be altered. Despite news this week that the Act could be delayed until the end of [...]
Lazard profit hike on M&A dealmaking July 28, 2011 A SURGE in mergers and acquisitions fuelled a 33 per cent increase in quarterly pre-tax profit at boutique US investment bank Lazard, it said yesterday. Lazard, which advises the world’s biggest companies on multi-billion dollar takeovers and asset sales, said its second quarter profit before tax jumped to $89.2m (£54.4m) from $67.1m in the same [...]
Barclays Capital in new broking win July 28, 2011 BARCLAYS Capital, the investment banking of arm of Barclays, has won another corporate broking client to add to its growing presence in UK equities. Barclays beat competition from other investment houses to win the joint mandate at Catlin, the insurance broker. It will share the mandate with Catlin’s long-term broker JP Morgan, and is replacing [...]
F&C trust sees £32.7m income July 28, 2011 FOREIGN & Colonial Investment Trust yesterday said its portfolio delivered £32.7m income in the past six months, almost ten per cent more than in the first half of 2010. The £2.4bn fund, run by Jeremy Tigue, saw its net asset value increase by 3.5 per cent to £3.58 per share over the half year as [...]
Investec edges up its earnings July 28, 2011 SOUTH African investment bank and asset manager Investec said first-quarter profit was marginally higher, as it battled tougher-than-expected economic conditions and weak debt and equity markets. Investec, which has been boosting its asset management business to diversify beyond lending, said yesterday that its principal banking activities have been under pressure. But the bank said that [...]
BELL MOVES UP AT DEUTSCHE July 28, 2011 Scott Bell has become Deutsche Bank’s head of corporate finance in the UK. Bell, who advised InBev on its acquisition of Anheuser Busch, will continue with his current role as global head of consumer. He formerly worked for Goldman Sachs and HSBC. Nigel Meek will become chairman of UK corporate finance.
AstraZeneca lifts views as Shire shines July 28, 2011 ASTRAZENECA yesterday raised its 2011 earnings outlook and promised to hand more cash back to shareholders, following the sale of its Astra Tech dental unit. Second-quarter sales rose a modest three per cent in the second quarter as revenue growth from key medicines slowed and generic competition increased. Britain’s second-biggest drugmaker faces dwindling sales of [...]
