L&G puts LGC up for sale as DNA profiling to solve crime increases October 25, 2009 FORENSIC science group LGC, the company which helps with murder investigations and paternity testing, is up for sale. Legal & General Ventures, the private equity group, is selling it off for £200m, after acquiring it for £80m in 2003. It is a massive turnaround for the group – which was also involved in investigating the [...]
Powerleague shrugs off new bid talk October 25, 2009 POWERLEAGUE, Britain’s biggest operator of five-a-side football, yesterday shrugged off rumours that sports fashion retailer JD Sports was plotting to gatecrash its £42.5m takeover. Earlier this month Powerleague agreed to a takeover offer from its biggest shareholder, Patron, which owns 29 per cent. Its executive chairman, Claude Littner, a close friend and colleague of Apprentice [...]
Long-term care provision: a chance for redemption October 25, 2009 WHEN it comes to old age, it is not just the elderly who can get confused. For years, politicians, policy makers and economists alike have struggled to provide a sustainable solution to the problem of funding long-term care for elderly people in an ageing UK population. As part of this debate, the City of London [...]
Candy brothers set to launch high-end property fund to snap up luxury homes October 25, 2009 Property tycoons Nick and Christian Candy are set to list a new high-end residential property fund. CPC Group, Christian Candy’s property development company, will act as the investment manager and Candy & Candy – the brother’s luxury design house famed for its sleek bespoke designs – will be providing interior design and property management services. [...]
GlaxoSmithKline set to reveal its swine flu boost as orders for vaccines jump October 25, 2009 Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is expected to unveil a leap in revenues in its third quarter results on Wednesday, due to a boost in demand for its swine flu vaccine. The world’s second biggest drugmaker recently said that governments have so far ordered 440m doses of the drug. Mass vaccinations across Europe started last week [...]
Aim stock valuations on rebound in third quarter October 25, 2009 LIGHT is on the horizon for small cap investors after stock valuations on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) showed a strong rebound in the third quarter of the year. The total Aim market capitalisation has risen 50 per cent to £56.6bn since the end of last year, with 27 per cent of this increase being [...]
Lloyd Webber diagnosed with cancer October 25, 2009 ANDREW Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, a publicist for the composer and theatre tycoon confirmed yesterday. “The condition is in its very early stages,” said the publicist. “Andrew is now undergoing treatment and expects to be fully back at work before the end of the year.” Lloyd Webber is best known for [...]
Crown portfolio values jump October 25, 2009 THE Queen has given the recession a royal kicking as the valuation of her property portfolio has jumped £500m over the past six months. Crown Estates, which manages urban, rural and marine property has reported a lift in its portfolio value to £6bn, due to a boost from the jump in farming land values. The [...]
Virgin eyes Scottish RAF base for Galactic take off October 25, 2009 VIRGIN GALACTIC, the commercial space flight project from Richard Branson, is seeking government support to launch flights from Scotland. The group’s president, Will Whitehorn, has been in talks with science minister Lord Drayson about opening an operation at RAFLossiemouth in Moray. Virgin says there is great potential for launching into polar orbit from Scotland, but [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS October 25, 2009 BELLWAYKBC Peel Hunt says that Bellway played both the upswing and the downswing better than its competitors, but still issued a “Sell” recommendation for the home construction company. It says valuations have been based on the wrong metric and it cannot justify the current share price. It has set a target price of 600p. NESTLEDespite [...]
