GKN considers debt raise in order to manage £2bn pension shortfall March 19, 2017 Engineering group GKN is preparing to go to debt markets to raise £200m in an attempt to placate the trustees of its pension scheme, according to reports. The FTSE 100 group is in the middle of a three-yearly review of its pension scheme with 2016 accounting valuations revealing its deficit had swelled by £475m over the last 12 months to [...]
Manx Telecom share price rises after revealing “solid” annual figures March 15, 2017 Manx Telecom, which operates the Isle of Man's telecoms network, today revealed it is generating annual sales equivalent to almost £1,000 per person living on the island. Shares rose one per cent in the wake of the news. The figures Revenue rose by 1.5 per cent to £81m, with underlying earnings of £28m, the same [...]
Why Great Britain’s inspirational Paralympians offer a unique and economic sponsorship proposition March 14, 2017 This month marks a year before the start of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in PyeongChang and expectations for Great Britain's performance in South Korea are high following our most successful ever summer and winter Paralympics. In Rio last year, we won 147 medals, coming second in the medal table. In Sochi in 2014, we topped [...]
Will legally separating BT and Openreach be enough to give broadband customers a better deal? March 10, 2017 Kate Devine, head of home communications at MoneySuperMarket, says Yes. Legally separating BT and Openreach should be seen as a victory for broadband customers. It will offer a better deal for many, built on the promise to treat all customers equally in terms of repairs and services, in comparison to the current system, which is [...]
BT needs to be able to “hire and fire” Openreach board and had to get the deal done before starting pension negotiations March 10, 2017 BT chief exec Gavin Patterson has said having the ability to “hire and fire” the Openreach board was a red line that the telecoms giant couldn’t cross in agreeing a deal with Ofcom over the future of its infrastructure arm. And breaking the deadlock with regulators over Openreach’s independence was imperative before entering into negotiations with [...]
BT Openfudge? Four things you need to know about the Ofcom deal… and what the regulator says about them March 10, 2017 BT's settlement with regulator Ofcom has been championed as a significant step towards making its Openreach broadband division a separate entity, after months of debate over the subject. Today's agreement isn't quite a spin-off. Although the two will be legally separated, Openreach, the company responsible for running the majority of the UK's telecoms infrastructure, will be forced to consult [...]
BT and Ofcom’s Openreach deal: Here’s how City analysts, competitors and consumer groups reacted March 10, 2017 BT and telecoms regulator Ofcom this morning announced that they'd settled their differences over the future of Openreach, the company that owns the majority of Britain's telecoms infrastructure. It's been a long road for both parties, and it did appear that Ofcom was going to be forced into going to European authorities to force through [...]
BT share price rises as it agrees solution with Ofcom after “long and challenging” debate over the future of Openreach March 10, 2017 Shares in BT were up more than three per cent as the market opened, after it emerged it will retain control of broadband provider Openreach, although the company will be carved out. Watchdog Ofcom announced this morning the "biggest reform of Openreach in its history is set to conclude" after the FTSE 100 firm met [...]
BT unanimously backs Rio Tinto chair Jan du Plessis to deal with “continuing challenges” March 9, 2017 BT has announced Rio Tinto's Jan du Plessis will take over as chairman of the telecoms giant from November. Du Plessis succeeds Sir Mike Rake who will step down after 10 years in the job. He admitted it was "an important time" for BT while Rake highlighted the new chairman will face "continuing challenges". The FTSE 100 firm [...]
Could Arsenal survive outside the Champions League in a post-Arsene Wenger future? March 8, 2017 Season after season, Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has been able to bank on Champions League income boosting the club's bottom line thanks to manager Arsene Wenger reliably delivering top four finishes. Yet with speculation surrounding the Frenchman’s position reaching fever pitch since a 10-2 aggregate hammering to Bayern Munich in the last 16 of this year's [...]