Boris pledges bus bonus cash June 20, 2012 BORIS Johnson has pledged to make an £8.3m pot available to fund an Olympics bonus for bus drivers and avert strike action tomorrow. The Mayor yesterday told the London Assembly that money from the Olympic Delivery Authority could be used to compensate the city’s bus drivers for working during the Games, in line with other [...]
Liontrust eyes profit as assets jump 60pc June 20, 2012 ASSET MANAGER Liontrust yesterday announced that it has attracted new investors and significantly boosted its assets as it edges towards profitability. The firm managed to grow its revenues by 54 per cent in the year to 31 March, reducing its losses from £4.6m to just £237,000, assisted by a substantial £3.4m in performance fees. Chief [...]
Eurotunnel becomes first firm to list on NYSE Euronext London June 20, 2012 NYSE Euronext yesterday announced that cross-channel transport operator Eurotunnel would become the first listed stock on its London market. This means that for the first time London Stock Exchange (LSE) has had genuine competition for listings in the capital. Eurotunnel currently has a dual listing with the LSE in London and NYSE Euronext in Paris but [...]
Former Lloyds director to head Bank of Ireland June 20, 2012 BANK of Ireland announced yesterday that former Lloyds Banking Group executive Archie Kane is to be its next governor. Kane retired from Lloyds last year after holding the position of group executive director for insurance and Scotland. “Bank of Ireland has made a lot of progress in raising capital whilst remaining in private ownership,” he [...]
Sage targets growth in Brazil with £125m deal June 20, 2012 SAGE Group entered the fast-growing and relatively undeveloped Brazilian software market yesterday by buying Folhamatic Group, a provider of accounting, tax, payroll and regulatory software to small businesses. The company expects to pay £125m for 75 per cent of Folhamatic. The rest of the equity will be retained by Folhamatic founder and chief executive Mauricio [...]
ADVISERS June 20, 2012 CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS SAGE was advised on the acquisition of Folhamatic by Citigroup Global Markets. Heading up its team was Charles Lytle, who was poached from ABN Amro’s Hoare Govett business in 2005. Lytle’s departure caused a spat between the banks, with the Dutch bank claiming Citigroup had attempted to steal an entire division worth [...]
IS THE FOLHAMATIC DEAL A GOOD MOVE FOR SAGE? June 20, 2012 JULIAN YATES INVESTEC We see the Folhamatic deal as a sensible strategic move and it seems more will follow. The valuation is rich, but reflects exposure to businesses with critical mass and recurring revenues in emerging markets. This deal is reminiscent of the old Sage tried and tested M&A model which worked well until Emdeon. [...]
Kesa laments EU troubles as losses widen June 20, 2012 KESA ELECTRICALS, the electronics retailer that sold its loss-making Comet chain earlier this year, yesterday said it is to rename itself Darty as it swung into the red. The UK-listed group, which owns French electricals group Darty, reported a pre-tax loss of €313.9m (£253.3m) in the year to 30 April, compared to a €30.7m profit [...]
PROFILE: ALAN PARKER June 20, 2012 ALAN PARKER is certainly used to a complicated retail conundrum. The City grandee, who will take over as chairman of Kesa in September, has had his hands full of late rescuing baby products chain Mothercare, where he was parachuted in as chairman last August to help revive its flagging UK business. Mothercare’s former chief executive [...]
DFS upbeat as it launches stores June 20, 2012 DFS yesterday hailed an “improving trend” in its performance and said it continued to gain market share after stepping up its expansion in the third quarter of the year. The sofa retailer, which runs 91 stores in the UK, reported a 21 per cent fall in underlying earnings to £44.5m in the nine months to [...]
