Indonesian tycoon Bakrie gears up for bid to become president May 21, 2012 MULTI-MILLIONAIRE businessman Aburizal Bakrie is limbering up for presidential elections in mid-2014 in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation. Secular Indonesia, a hot favourite of international investors, is a sprawling archipelago of largely untapped mineral riches, an increasingly wealthy middle class and an economic growth rate last year of 6.5 per cent. But in a [...]
Landlord Segro banks £200m from sale of industrial estates May 21, 2012 LANDLORD Segro yesterday announced the sale of four industrial sites in the Midlands and Greater Manchester for a total of £204.5m, as part of a strategy to focus on core assets in London and the south east. A fund managed by US firm Harbert Management Corporation has agreed to buy two multi-let industrial estates in [...]
Olswang profits rise 30 per cent May 21, 2012 Revenues at technology, media and telecoms law firm Olswang grew by 17 per cent in the 2011/12 financial year, the firm said yesterday. Total revenue was £108.1m, up from £96.2m for the previous financial year. The increase meant the firm’s profits were up by more than 30 per cent, and it expects profit per partner [...]
HICL invests in PFI hospitals project May 21, 2012 Infrastructure investment firm HICL has taken a 30 per cent equity and loan note interest in a PFI hospitals project for £34.6m. The project is a 40 year scheme to design, build, finance and maintain an acute hospital and six mental health facilities for NHS trusts covering the Birmingham and Solihull areas. Construction has nearly been [...]
Mortgage loans plummet as tax break expires May 21, 2012 MORTGAGE lending plunged in April after the stamp duty holiday expired, industry data showed yesterday, while economists warned the underlying state of the housing market is weakening. Gross mortgage lending slumped from £12.6bn in March to £10.2bn in April – a 19 per cent fall to an 11-month low, according to data from the Council [...]
Active shareholders tie top pay to results May 21, 2012 EXECUTIVES’ pay is increasingly linked to the performance of the companies they manage, according to a wide-ranging economic study published yesterday that dismissed public worries over “rewards for failure”. “Today’s correlation between pay and performance is driven by bonuses and other incentive packages, which have become more important in recent years,” the Centre for Economic [...]
G8 downbeat over recovery May 21, 2012 PEOPLE in the G8 countries have become more pessimistic over economic prospects, according to a study seen today by City A.M. A mere 14 per cent of people across the G8 expect their countries’ economies to be stronger in six months time, an international poll by Ipsos MORI has showed. Two years ago, this figure [...]
Firms call for superfast internet May 21, 2012 ROLLING out superfast broadband to rural businesses will close the digital divide with cities and revitalise the rural economy, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) claimed yesterday. Its survey showed 63 per cent of small firms in rural areas are dissatisfied with the speed of their internet connection, compared with 48 per cent of businesses [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 21, 2012 DFJ Esprit The cross-stage venture capital firm has appointed Peter Keen as its a new venture partner, specialising in medtech and life science investments. Keen joins with 28 years’ experience in the sector. He was co-founder of Chriscience Group, chief financial officer of Arakis, and is currently non-executive director of Horizon Discovery and Q-Chip. Jefferies [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 21, 2012 ITV Peel Hunt rates the broadcaster as a “hold” with a target price of 82p, saying that despite a bumper summer of sport it thinks positive sentiment around Euro 2012 is already priced in. The broker says the outlook for autumn and beyond is muted, but expects broadcasting revenue growth of 2.2 per cent. EADS [...]
