Business network LinkedIn nets ten millionth member in the UK September 17, 2012 BUSINESS social network LinkedIn yesterday celebrated passing the 10m membership mark in the UK. The tally means an estimated four out of five British business professionals are now registered. LinkedIn, which began in 2003, has over 175m members worldwide, and has shown strong growth in the UK. It passed the 5m mark in 2010. Hotpots [...]
H&M sales hit by hot weather September 17, 2012 HENNES & Mauritz, the world’s second largest fashion retailer, said yesterday that unusually warm weather in Europe dented demand for autumn clothes and led to an unexpected drop in sales in August. Shares in the Swedish budget apparel firm, which trails Zara owner Inditex by value and turnover, as well as by the number of [...]
Rip Curl considering investors after unsolicited bids flood in September 17, 2012 AUSTRALIAN surfwear company Rip Curl said yesterday it has received unsolicited approaches from several international companies wanting to invest in the privately held firm, in a deal that could fetch up to A$480m (£309m) Australia’s beaten-down retailers have proved attractive for buyout firms this year as harsh trading conditions battered sales and share prices. Rip [...]
Qatar Airways expects small loss for 2011 September 17, 2012 QATAR Airways, the Gulf state’s rapidly growing flag carrier, made a small net loss in the last financial year which ended in March because of high oil prices, its chief executive said yesterday. “We had a very small loss because of the huge increase in oil price,” Akbar al-Baker told reporters. “Profit on an Ebitda [...]
Mizuho picks new international boss September 17, 2012 JAPANESE bank Mizuho has hired Michiel de Jong, an investment banking veteran of Dutch group ABN Amro, to run its London-based advisory and securities business as it tries to make inroads into the international market. De Jong, who started as president and chief executive officer of Mizuho International yesterday, replaces Paul Hearn, a former BNP [...]
M&S bigwig Bostock sells more shares September 17, 2012 THE OUTGOING head of Marks & Spencers’ non-food business sold off almost a quarter of a million shares in the firm on Friday, regulatory filings showed yesterday. Kate Bostock, who is leaving the firm on 1 October by mutual consent, exercised options granted in 2004 to acquire and then sell 249,627 shares, making a net [...]
Hibu and Global Payments tie-up September 17, 2012 ■ Digital services provider Hibu yesterday announced a partnership with Global Payments, which offers electronic transaction processing services. Hibu, formerly known as Yell, said the tie-up would allow it to provide local businesses in the UK with the ability to take card payments. Hibu will initially offer the service to its existing customer base of [...]
Telefonica picks Aurasma for AR September 17, 2012 ■ Telefonica said yesterday it has picked Hewlett-Packard’s Aurasma technology to expand its mobile advertising offerings in one of the largest deals yet in the emerging market for augmented reality. Augmented reality overlays text or graphics on images viewed on smartphone, tablet and PC screens. Aurasma was part of Autonomy, a former FTSE 100 company [...]
Brady reports 37pc half-year lift September 17, 2012 ■ Commodity software solutions provider Brady reported a 37 per cent increase in half-year revenue as it signed up eight new licence deals. The company, which works for the energy, metals and commodities sectors, said sales revenue rose to £12.11m from £8.8m a year ago.
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs September 17, 2012 LDC The private equity house has appointed Andrew Hampshire as investment director in its value enhancement group. He joins from the Lloyds Banking Group, where he spent six years leading change and technology programmes. He was most recently responsible for heading up Lloyds’s data quality function. Deloitte Fredrik Burger has been appointed as a partner [...]
