Channel Tunnel Rail Link issues £200m dividend despite HS1 losses July 7, 2014 The Channel Tunnel Rail Link paid out a £200m dividend last year, despite swinging into losses of £113.2m. High Speed 1, which runs the 108-kilometre high-speed railway that connects London to the Channel Tunnel, said it paid the dividend to shareholders after “having grown the value of the business over the last few years”. The [...]
New regulator set to oversee shale licensing July 7, 2014 THE NEW oil and gas regulator created for the UK North Sea will also have powers over onshore activities, including shale gas, City A.M. has learnt. In a bid to ensure security of supply and bring down energy costs, the government has been supportive of the conventional oil and gas sector and the burgeoning shale [...]
Gymbox raises £17m to finance expansion plans across the UK July 7, 2014 GYMBOX, the US-style fitness club chain that offers classes including Yoga Rave, has raised £17m to open more sites in the capital and expand into other UK cities. Business Growth Fund, an investment fund backed by the UK’s five largest banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Standard Chartered – is providing the money in [...]
New maps on shale formations quench fears of water pollution July 3, 2014 The UK’s burgeoning shale gas industry yesterday went some way to satiate the concerns of environmental campaigners, when new data showed the layer of rocks where the resource would be found was far below the area exploited for drinking water. Critics argue that extracting shale gas – and the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing [...]
Serco share price dips as outsourcing firm writes down value of some contracts July 3, 2014 Beleaguered outsourcing firm Serco yesterday warned that it would have to write down the value of several large loss-making contracts, which could hamper its full-year results. Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company dipped almost one per cent on the news, with UK contracts for asylum seeker housing and clinical healthcare set to be among the [...]
Bottom Line: Shareholders need Churchillian spirit July 3, 2014 NEWS of Rupert Soames’ appointment as Serco chief executive cheered the market back in February, sending the scandal-struck outsourcing firm’s share price up more than 10 per cent. With his impressive lineage as Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson and his remarkable track record at the helm of Aggreko, Soames inspired confidence in Serco’s investors that he [...]
Balfour Beatty share price nosedives after profit warning July 3, 2014 Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty’s share price plunged 15 per cent in early trading yesterday, after the firm delivered its fourth profit warning in two years. The FTSE 250-quoted company said its expected a £35m profit shortfall, due to problematic contracts in the engineering services part of its UK construction business. Most of this will come [...]
Analyst Views: Why did the market react so badly to the Balfour update? July 3, 2014 HOWARD SEYMOUR | NUMIS It’s disappointing that the firm has issued yet another profit warning when the last one wasn’t even that long ago. Most parts of the business are doing well, but the engineering services unit is having a disproportionate effect on the company. If construction is bad it can be a big issue [...]
Genel on track to meet targets July 3, 2014 GENEL Energy, the Kurdistan-focused oil explorer, yesterday reiterated its full-year guidance and reassured the market that its operations “remain safe and secure” against the backdrop of geopolitical tensions in Iraq. The London-listed firm said production averaged 63,000 barrels of oil per day in the first half, in line with company guidance. It has maintained its [...]
Tullow strikes oil off Norway July 3, 2014 TULLOW Oil, the fourth largest oil and gas explorer listed in London, yesterday cheered investors with a discovery off Norway. Shares in the firm climbed over one per cent on news that the Hanssen well, in which it holds a 20 per cent stake, had encountered oil and gas. The discovery gave Tullow a boost [...]
