Balfour Beatty expands its US business January 3, 2013 INFRASTRUCTURE firm Balfour Beatty has beefed up its American business by acquiring a US energy storage firm in a deal thought to be worth around $18m (£11m). Balfour Beatty subsidiary Parsons Brinckerhoff has bought Texas-based Subsurface, a consulting and engineering firm providing services in energy storage. Subsurface is forecast to generate around $50m in revenue [...]
John Menzies to close cargo operations at Chicago airport January 3, 2013 DISTRIBUTION and aviation group John Menzies said yesterday it would take a £7m hit from the closure of its loss-making cargo handling operations at Chicago Airport. The closure of the operations – which comes as John Menzies has “exhausted all alternative options” – will improve earnings by around £1.4m next year, it said. Following the [...]
Chemring hires former Umeco exec as new finance director January 3, 2013 THE NEW chief executive of defence services firm Chemring yesterday hired two new executives in an effort to turn around the company’s fortunes. In a boardroom shake-up, new chief executive Mark Papworth appointed Steve Bowers, former director of aerospace materials group Umeco, as group finance director with effect from 7 January. He takes over from [...]
Jet2 chooses new leader as its founder vacates one of his jobs January 3, 2013 LEISURE airline and holiday firm Jet2 has picked Steve Heapy as its new chief executive as founder Philip Meeson takes a back seat. Heapy, most recently the chief commercial officer at Jet2.com and managing director at Jet2 Holidays, has been with the firm since 2009. Meeson will become executive chairman at the airline, while keeping [...]
Gap buys luxury retailer Intermix January 3, 2013 Gap, the US clothing giant which also owns Banana Republic and Old Navy, revealed yesterday it is tapping into the luxury market with the $130m (£80m) acquisition of women’s fashion boutique Intermix. The business sells clothes and accessories brands such as Yves Saint Laurent and Jimmy Choo via its 32 stores in the US and [...]
Quiksilver appoints new chief January 3, 2013 Quiksilver, the Californian group known for its surfwear, said yesterday it has hired former Disney executive Andy Mooney as its new chief executive. Mooney will take up his role next week replacing Quicksilver co-founder Bob McKnight, who will become executive chairman. Mooney resigned as chairman of Disney’s consumer products division last year after 12 years [...]
Leni starts legal fight with MOG January 3, 2013 Explorer Leni Gas and Oil yesterday issued High Court proceedings against fellow explorer Mediterranean Oil and Gas (MOG), regarding last year’s sale of Leni’s 10 per cent stake in a Maltese oil block to the European-focused explorer. Leni alleges that MOG misrepresented the productivity of the oil block, which the latter denies. MOG said yesterday [...]
City Moves for 4 January 2013 | Who’s switching jobs January 3, 2013 Barings Asset Management Nicola Hayes has been appointed head of client service and relationship development in London for the investment management firm. She joins from Invesco Perpetual, where she was most recently associate director, global sales and relationship management. Hayes was also previously a consultant director in Invesco’s UK institutional sales team. Smith & Williamson [...]
Best of the Brokers January 3, 2013 COMPASS Espirito Santo yesterday downgraded the food services group from “buy” to “neutral”, believing the company’s shares outperformed in 2012. According to the analysts, this encapsulates the gloomy short-term potential in the company due to limited organic growth caused by cyclical pressure in Europe. However, Espirito Santo has raised its fair value by 50p to [...]
FTSE spikes in afternoon trading on US December employment boost January 3, 2013 BRITAIN’S FTSE rallied in the afternoon yesterday, as encouraging economic data out of the United States provided the momentum to lift the index to fresh 17-month highs. The FTSE 100 had edged lower in morning trade, but added 0.3 per cent in 15 minutes after the release of data showing that US private-sector employers added [...]
