UK living standard 4th best in EU BRITISH living standards are improving, even as they stagnate in neighbours such as France, official EU statistics showed yesterday. The UK is tied in fourth place with Nordic states Denmark, Finland and Sweden. The only countries which enjoy a higher standard are Luxembourg, Germany and Austria. The standard of living is determined by a unit [...]
Wood Group brushes off oil price drop fear British energy services company John Wood Group yesterday announced that it expects full-year results to be largely in line with expectations – an improvement on last year’s results, and defying fears over possible knock-on effects from the falling price of oil. The announcement comes after expectations arose of a steep fall in oil prices in [...]
Moss Bros reports 7.8pc rise in sales as it sees off warm autumn BRITISH suit rental company Moss Bros Group yesterday reported a 7.8 per cent rise in sales throughout the first 19 weeks of the second half compared with the same period last year. The company said that it benefited from new sub-brands launched for the autumn season, as well as trading from refurbished stores. In the [...]
Computacenter chief picked for Daisy’s top job December 11, 2014 BUSINESS communication and IT services giant Daisy Group yesterday announced the appointment of Neil Muller as chief executive of the company, following the news of founder and former chief executive Matthew Riley’s promotion to executive chairman. Currently, Muller works as the UK managing director for Computacenter, where he has been for more than two decades. Muller [...]
Infosys slumps after founders cash out stock December 8, 2014 FOUR founders of leading Indian business consulting and information technology business Infosys have sold $1.1bn (£704m) worth of shares, news of which knocked the company’s shares 4.9 per cent yesterday. The shares were sold by N.R Narayana Murthy, Nandan Nilekani, S.D. Shibulal and K. Dinesh, all of whom are part of a group of engineers [...]
Jelf Group unveils positive full year results after acquisition December 8, 2014 INSURANCE and employee benefit consultancy Jelf Group yesterday said full-year results for the period ending 30 September were positive. Revenues rose 8.4 per cent to £82.6m and it also reported a 40.4 per cent profit increase to £6.5m. The company has increased its dividend payment to 2p per share, which will be paid to shareholders [...]
BHP Billiton dubs new $15bn mine spin-off venture South32 December 8, 2014 ANGLO-Australian mining company BHP Billiton yesterday named its new $15bn (£9.6bn) mining spin-off – South32. The title comes from the fact that the company’s main resources are located in the southern hemisphere, namely in South Africa and Australia. Both of these areas are linked by the thirty-second parallel south line of latitude. BHP Billiton initially [...]
Pinewood Shepperton takes full control of its film studios for £37m December 4, 2014 Pinewood Shepperton, home of the James Bond film series, has taken full control of its film production site in Shepperton after buying out Aviva from its joint venture for £36.8m. Shepperton Studios Property Partnership, which has existed since 2006, will now fall under the sole ownership of Pinewood. Since 2006, £9.8m has been invested at [...]
Hays Recruitment buys 80 per cent stake in IT staffer Veredus December 4, 2014 LEADING British human resources and recruitment company Hays has acquired 80 per cent of Veredus Corporation, a specialist IT staffer based in Tampa, Florida, for $44m (£28m). Veredus has 10 offices and 150 employees scattered throughout the south east and mid west of the US, and generates 85 per cent of its net fees from [...]
Toyota recalling 190,000 cars as more Takata airbags fail December 4, 2014 Leading Japanese car manufacturer Toyota yesterday announced that it was recalling 190,000 cars, mostly in Japan, because of potentially defective airbags produced by Takata. This adds to Takata’s recall count, which was already at about 10.5m in the past five years. Takata’s airbags have been hit by accusations that they explode too forcefully, and spray [...]
