Rocket Internet share price soars after Goldman gives its rating lift off November 10, 2014 Rocket Internet saw its shares surge in response to yesterday’s decision by Goldman Sachs to place the German internet group on its list of so-called “conviction buys”, with a price target of €69. Shares reached €48 yesterday, a 12.81 per cent rise following the investment bank’s note on the firm. Goldman’s decision marks an impressive [...]
Trinity Mirror ad revenue dented by dip in supermarkets’ spend November 10, 2014 TRINITY Mirror, the publisher best known for its Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People titles, yesterday announced a whopping 12 per cent decline in ad revenue during the 17 weeks to 26 October. The company attributed the fall to a decrease in spending from supermarket brands, which dragged overall revenue down by five per [...]
Economy hits Credit Agricole November 6, 2014 FRENCH bank Credit Agricole’s shares tumbled yesterday as its profits were impeded by poor economic growth at home. Net income rose 2.1 per cent on the year to €1.46bn (£1.14bn) in the third quarter. Revenues rose 1.3 per cent year-on-year, and the bank was boosted as its cost of risk decreased by 17.1 per cent. [...]
Commerzbank triples profits November 6, 2014 GERMAN lender Commerzbank saw its profits surge in the third quarter as bad loans fell and its investment bank performed well. Operating profit in the third quarter topped out at €343m (£268m) – more than triple that of the same period last year – while total loan volumes increased and capital ratios improved. Operating profit [...]
Prezzo gobbled up for £304m by American private equity firm TPG November 6, 2014 Prezzo yesterday agreed to a £303.7m cash bid by American private equity firm TPG, valuing the high street Italian restaurant chain at almost 10 times its operating profit. TPG, which saw off competition from buyout firm Advent to seal the deal, launched the offer via Papa Bidco, a newly incorporated company indirectly owned by the [...]
Just Eat’s third quarter orders soar as takeaway firm delivers November 3, 2014 ONLINE takeaway food service Just Eat saw orders jump by more than half from July to September, leaving chief executive David Buttress “very pleased” with the company’s third quarter performance. On a like-for-like basis, the company yesterday said in an interim management statement that orders had increased by 51 per cent in the third quarter. [...]
British workers happier in jobs than the French November 3, 2014 British workers are happier with their jobs than French or Italian workers, according to an international study from recruiters Randstad. Brits are the second-most satisfied group of the four major European economies, as the economic recovery drives more opportunities for new roles and career progress. In the poll 69 per cent of Britons claiming fulfilment [...]
Hansteen offloads property assets to Dunedin Property and Brockton Capital in £146m sell off November 3, 2014 Property investment company Hansteen yesterday announced the sale of the Hansteen UK Industrial Property Unit Trust (HPUT) in two transactions for a total of £146.1m. Brockton Capital, which co-owns The Mailbox in Birmingham, partnered with Dunedin Property to acquire 41 assets in HPUT for £110.5m. The remaining £35.6m was involved in a separate deal in [...]
AstraZeneca completes $2.1bn takeover of Almirall franchise November 3, 2014 UK drug giant AstraZeneca yesterday completed its acquisition of rights for Spanish pharmaceutical firm Almirall’s respiratory franchise. The $2.1bn (£1.3bn) deal gives AstraZeneca ownership of the development and commercialisation of the business which includes drugs like Eklira, Duaklir Genuair and treatments for illnesses such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. AstraZeneca said the deal [...]
Nokia turns over a new leaf as network business leads to profit October 23, 2014 Finnish technology and networking giant Nokia yesterday reported a strong third quarter, announcing a 13 per cent year-on-year growth in sales for Nokia Networks due to new deployments in North America and China. Overall, sales also rose to €3.3bn (£2.6bn) and the business returned to a profit of €750m, from a loss of €105m during [...]
