Nokia’s £240m headquarters up for sale as it scrambles for cash October 3, 2012 STRUGGLING smartphone maker Nokia has put its global headquarters on the market as part of a drive to sell off assets to keep the business alive. The once-mighty firm is selling the offices in Finnish second city Espoo, on the Baltic coast, and could raise up to €300m (£240m). “We are evaluating different options for [...]
Dunelm boosted by wet summer October 3, 2012 Homewares retailer Dunelm yesterday announced a 15 per cent rise in full-year profit, saying the wet summer boosted customer numbers. Dunelm’s like-for-like sales for the year increased 3.1 per cent but grew 10.4 per cent in the final quarter. July to June pre-tax profit rose to £96.2m from £83.6m a year ago. Revenue rose 12.1 [...]
Findel sales lifted by Express Gifts October 3, 2012 Home shopping group Findel yesterday reported positive first half sales figures on the back of a strong performance by Express Gifts, the largest of its businesses. First half sales for Express Gifts were 18 per cent ahead of last year, contributing to overall group sales growth of 7.9 per cent. Findel said that its peak [...]
Deutsche Telekom joins MetroPCS October 3, 2012 Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS said yesterday they will merge their US mobile operations to create a larger fourth-place player better able to compete with rivals. The boards of both companies voted yesterday to approve the deal, which will see Deutsche Telekom hold 74 per cent and MetroPCS 26 per cent in the combined entity.
BTG increases revenue forecasts after a strong first half to year October 3, 2012 SPECIALIST healthcare company BTG yesterday raised its full-year profit guidance, thanks to strong first-half trading. After a strong six months that came in ahead of expectations and a positive outlook for the second half, BTG raised its revenue expectations for the year to the end of March 2013 to between £205m and £215m from previous [...]
ABG ups gold reserve estimate October 3, 2012 London-listed African Barrick Gold has increased its gold reserve estimates by 900,000 ounces at the Bulyanhulu Upper East Project in Tanzania as it continues to expand its mining on the project. ABG will now complete a feasibility study on the area. Production for the project is expected to start at the end of 2014 and [...]
Petra Diamonds miners strike October 3, 2012 A strike continued at Petra Diamonds’ Kimberley Underground mine yesterday, as a number of diamond miners remained on strike. It is understood that the strikes are related to wage demands, and the company is talking to the National Union of Mineworkers. FTSE 250-listed Petra Diamonds employs around 570 employees at the South African Kimberley Underground [...]
Shell opens Russia lubricants plant October 3, 2012 Shell yesterday opened a new lubricants blending plant in the Tver region north-west of Moscow, the first to be built by an international oil company in Russia. The new plant will supply a range of finished consumer, transport and industrial lubricants, blending up to 200m litres a year and creating 150 Russian jobs when at [...]
BG Group offloads Indian asset October 3, 2012 BG Group yesterday sold its interest in India’s Gujarat Gas Company for 24.6bn Indian rupees (£293m) to GSPC Distribution Networks, a Gujarat subsidiary. BG Asia Pacific Holdings will sell 65.12 per cent of its interest in the Indian company, the country’s largest private sector natural gas distribution company. The transaction will complete during the first [...]
Who’s switching jobs October 3, 2012 Pioneer Investments Jonathan May has been appointed head of institutional business development, UK at the investment management group. He joins from Aviva Investors, where he was been head of global consultant relations. May has 20 years’ experience in the industry, and has also held senior positions at Fidelity International. Marex Spectron The commodities-focused financial products [...]
