UK retail sales grow as consumers shrug off Brexit worries March 21, 2019 British retail sales showed strong growth last month compared to a year before, in a sign that consumers remain unaffected by the Brexit impasse. The quantity of goods UK shoppers bought increased by 0.4 per cent in February compared to January, with strong growth in non-store retailing and fuel, figures released today by the Office [...]
Inflation edges up from two-year low as food and alcohol prices rise March 20, 2019 The UK inflation rate edged up from two-year lows last month as food and alcohol prices rose. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) 12-month rate was 1.9 per cent in February, up from 1.8 per cent in January, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read more: UK inflation falls close to a two-year low Rising [...]
Interserve wins £76m oil and gas contract despite falling into administration days ago March 18, 2019 An Interserve subsidiary has won a $100m (£76m) contract to carry out maintenance on oil and gas sites in Abu Dhabi, days after its parent company was forced into administration. The outsourcer will replace firewater pumps and liquid sulphur loading systems at offshore and onshore sites owned by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Read [...]
Outsourcer Interserve begins trading as a private company after shares suspended March 18, 2019 Government supplier Interserve has today embarked on a new chapter as a private company, after its shares were removed from the London Stock Exchange. The ex-FTSE 250 mainstay went into administration on Friday after shareholders rejected a plan to alleviate most of its £630m debt pile, which would have seen their collective stake in the [...]
Rival outsourcers could buy out Interserve services business as Mitie makes inquiries March 17, 2019 Interserve’s uncertainty continued over the weekend as rivals expressed an interest in buying the most profitable part of its business. It is understood fellow outsourcer Mitie contacted Interserve’s administrator EY over the weekend, as well as a consortium of banks and hedge funds which now own the firm, about buying its support services arm. Read [...]
Queensgate Investments buys four Grange hotels in central London for £1bn March 15, 2019 Real estate investment firm Queensgate has snapped up four Grange hotels in central London in a deal worth roughly £1bn. The company has acquired the Grange’s upmarket hotels at St Paul’s, Tower Bridge, the City and Holborn. In total the portfolio comprises 1,345 rooms and roughly 930,000 square feet (sq ft) of real estate. Read [...]
Outsourcer Interserve falls into administration after shareholders reject rescue deal March 15, 2019 Interserve has fallen into administration after shareholders roundly rejected a rescue deal designed to relieve it of a more than £630m debt pile. The public outsourcer has announced it expects to fall into the hands of administrators after investors voted to reject its proposed deal by 59 per cent to 41 per cent at a general meeting this morning. Earlier [...]
Mark Kleinman: Interserve is left to clean up its own mess March 15, 2019 What’s this? A public voting process punctuated by angry disputes about the terms and timing of a deal; feverish talk of ousting the top team orchestrating the agreement; and potentially dire consequences if the vote is blocked. It sounds a lot like events in Westminster, but today might instead mark the denouement of another of [...]
Public sector outsourcing giant Interserve stares into the abyss, 14 months on from Carillion’s collapse March 14, 2019 Interserve, one of the government’s biggest providers of public services, faces the possibility of going into administration tomorrow, as the firm holds a crunch shareholder vote on a potential rescue deal. The public sector outsourcing giant has been plunged into a brutal power struggle in recent weeks with its lead shareholder, US hedge fund Coltrane [...]
Interserve’s top shareholder warns administrator against selling off to lenders March 12, 2019 Interserve’s largest shareholder has warned the outsourcer’s would-be administrator against arranging a pre-pack insolvency deal that would hand total control to the firm’s lenders, in the event the firm goes bust on Friday. Coltrane Asset Management, a US hedge fund that holds a 27.7 per cent stake in the outsourcer, has written to EY, which [...]