POACHERS TURNED GAMEKEEPERS SNARE GOLDMAN WITH BEST BREW July 18, 2011 SHARP-suited, discerning of taste and with a generous disposable income they can easily take elsewhere. Yes, the Goldman crew are a tough crowd – but even the investment bank’s most hard-nosed deal-makers are being won over by the new Italian opposite the Goldman Sachs fortress on Fleet Street, which is gaining a reputation for the [...]
Man Group buys Lehman estate claims July 18, 2011 HEDGE fund giant Man Group yesterday paid $355m (£220m) to take over all residual exposure to Lehman Brothers from funds acquired when it bought GLG last year. Man will take over unresolved legal claims on the estate of the failed US investment bank dating from when Lehman was prime broker to a number of GLG [...]
Audits still fail to challenge firms, FRC says July 18, 2011 AUDITORS of major UK companies are still failing to challenge the information given to them with sufficient scepticism, a new report today shows. Less than half the audits reviewed by the Financial Reporting Council in the past year were rated good, while 13.5 per cent required significant improvement. The FRC’s Audit Inspection Unit (AIU) also [...]
A cash outlay now that opens up its funds to new flows for the long term July 18, 2011 MAN Group is determined to up the pace of its fund inflows and this is a calculated move to make that happen. By quantifying the risk associated with to date unresolved claims on the Lehman estate, the deal makes good sense, but the consequences will be still better. While there is a chance the settlement [...]
Care landlord NHP to run its homes itself July 18, 2011 THE owner of a third of Southern Cross’ care homes is to take control of their operations and run them through a newly-formed management company, it said yesterday. NHP, a property investor, had been expected to hire a care provider to continue running its 249 homes following the decision to break up Southern Cross’ estate. [...]
Rockhopper Exploration spuds third Sea Lion appraisal well in Falklands July 18, 2011 ROCKHOPPER Exploration, the oil and gas explorer, pressed ahead with its hunt for oil in the North Falklands, after drilling its third appraisal well on the Sea Lion Discovery feature last week. The group told investors yesterday that it had spudded the well on 15 July and expected to complete the drilling within five weeks. [...]
SHELL SEES SALE OF CANADIAN STAKE July 18, 2011 Royal Dutch Shell (led by Peter Voser, pictured) is preparing to sell off its C$16.2bn (£10.5bn) stake in a gas pipeline project in northern Canada, as well as other assets in the region. The Mackenzie pipeline project, has been under regulatory review for years and its fate has long been in doubt, despite winning formal [...]
Thomas Cook seals a new credit deal July 18, 2011 TRAVEL operator Thomas Cook yesterday announced that it had sealed an improved deal for its credit facility. The lending arrangement, comprising a £200m loan and an £850m credit facility that can be called upon if required, now runs until May 2014. Shares in Thomas Cook rose around four per cent when the London Stock Exchange [...]
Dixons hands Browett £1m despite big losses July 18, 2011 DIXONS chief executive John Browett was paid more than £1m in the last year despite the company being hit by tough trading in the electronics retailing market. His finance director Nicholas Cadbury, who is stepping down, was paid £564,000 including a cash bonus of £62,000. A chart in the report called Total Shareholder Return provided [...]
Debenhams in debt pile refinancing July 18, 2011 DEBENHAMS has refinanced its credit facility at reduced interest rates. Lenders for the department store chain’s £650m facility, made up of a £250m long term loan and £400m in revolving credit, have reduced the group’s cash interest rate by 0.50 per cent to four per cent. The lenders Barclays Capital, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal [...]
