City Moves for 10 January 2014 | Who’s switching jobs January 9, 2014 Grant ThorntonThe business advisory firm has announced the appointment of Richard Milnes as a partner in its financial services tax team. He joins from EY, and has previously worked in international tax for Shell and as head of tax planning at Lloyds. CouttsThe bank has recruited Matthew Spencer as executive director and head of intermediaries [...]
Mears replaces corporate brokers January 8, 2014 Mears, the social housing support services group, yesterday said it has hired Liberum and Peel Hunt as its joint corporate brokers, replacing Investec and Canaccord. Steve Pearce and Steve Tredget will be leading the Liberum team, while Justin Jones and Mike Bell are key players on the Peel Hunt team. Mears sold its specialist mechanical [...]
When will the Bank of England hike interest rates? January 3, 2014 Next Thursday is the first meeting of the year for the Bank of England's (BoE) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). And whilst January is known to be uneventful in monetary policy terms, and the Bank's made it clear that an interest rate hike from the current 0.5 per cent is not on the horizon, doubt is [...]
Analyst Views: Has Dixons successfully strengthened its position in the market? December 17, 2013 KATE CALVERT | INVESTEC Dixons has benefited from consolidation particularly with Comet having gone into administration. But the results also show group progress made from the UK restructuring. It has also made great progress in differentiating itself from other major online players. JOHN CUMMINS | WH IRELAND Interims from Dixons read well and demonstrate both [...]
London Mining lowers 2013 forecasts December 12, 2013 Aim-listed London Mining yesterday said it has lowered its full-year production and sales guidance, due to slower-than-expected completion of a plant upgrade and the effects of the wet season. “While this is not a big deal in the grand scheme of things it is a small negative mark against management, which had previously extolled its [...]
Kentz’s shares surge on £266m US acquisition December 9, 2013 ENGINEERING firm Kentz saw its share price soar by nearly 13 per cent yesterday after it unveiled a $435m (£265.6m) acquisition of US firm Valerus. Kentz, which was the subject of a failed takeover approach earlier this year, had long said it wanted to grow its engineering arm in order to bid for more engineering, [...]
Sage tops FTSE 100 risers after positive update December 4, 2013 FINANCIAL software maker Sage leapt to the top of the FTSE 100 risers yesterday after the company reported profits up one per cent to £360.5m before exceptional charges. Sage also raised its dividend by six per cent to 11.32p a share in its results for the year ending 30 September. “These results highlight the strong [...]
Servelec valuation approaches £150m as shares jump on debut December 2, 2013 SOFTWARE and services company Servelec yesterday floated its shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, reaching a valuation of £146.9m. Servelec’s software is used in the automation of utilities, broadcasters, lighthouses and North Sea oil rigs, a business that brought in revenues of £39.4m last year with profits of £10.9m. Servelec is [...]
Analyst Views: What do you think about Rathbone’s change at the top? December 2, 2013 STUART DUNCAN | PEEL HUNTIt’s clearly been a fairly well managed process and seems pretty much business as usual for the company at this point. It’s been a transition that has been well thought through and it’s a good example of foresight to put these plans into place earlier this year. DAVID MCCANN | NUMISThis [...]
Exclusive: Rugby’s Euro dispute sad, says Roberts December 2, 2013 WALES and Lions star Jamie Roberts has called the bitter row threatening the future of European club rugby “sad” and lamented the lack of opportunity for players to help solve the impasse. It is still unclear whether the Heineken Cup will go ahead next season and, if so, whether English teams will be part of [...]