RBS mulls float of branches to create challenger bank October 15, 2012 RBS is working on a plan to float the 316 branches it is being forced to sell off, in a move that could create a new high street bank. The state-owned institution had hoped to sell the branches to Santander, but after several years of negotiations the bidder dropped out last Friday. It needs to [...]
Tattersalls sale attracts wealth of racing fans October 15, 2012 CITY horse racing fans, of which there are no doubt many, may have been following the Tattersalls yearling sale last week with a speculative eye. This was certainly the case for Bernard Kantor of Investec and Martin Hughes of Cheviot Asset Management, who were both spotted at the old auction house. Tatts, by no means [...]
Best of the Brokers October 15, 2012 OPTOS Panmure Gordon has upgraded the retinal imaging firm to “buy” from “hold”after a strong trading statement. The broker has also raised its target price to 320p from 230p. LLOYDS BANKING GROUP Shore Capital has upgraded the bank from “hold” to “buy” with a target price of 53p, saying that central bank action and a [...]
Don’t read too much into shift of focus – it started under Bob October 9, 2012 BARCLAYS’ purchase of ING Direct UK is being seen by many as yet another sign that the bank’s focus, under new chief executive Antony Jenkins, has shifted firmly to its retail arm. Jenkins’ early speeches have certainly been littered with regulator-pleasing pledges to shape up, putting him at the front of a queue of UK [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching jobs October 9, 2012 NGBI Private Equity David Turner has joined NGBI’s UK team as an investment manager. He qualified as an accountant with Grant Thornton before transferring into its corporate finance team, and was most recently a member of Experian’s corporate development office. Chadbourne and Park The law firm has announced that Silvia Fazio has joined the firm as an [...]
UK manufacturing falls as trade deficit widens October 9, 2012 British factory output dropped in August as the trade deficit widened, data showed today. Manufacturing output fell 1.1 per cent in August, following a bounce of 3.1 per cent in July, the Office for National Statistics said this morning. Meanwhile, Britain’s goods trade deficit widened to £9.8bn, as exports fell and oil imports rose. The [...]
Olympics help Halfords sales pick up speed October 4, 2012 BRITAIN’S success in the Tour de France and in the Olympics boosted sales of cycling gear at Halfords during the summer, helping the retailer to beat forecasts in the second half. Sales at stores open more than a year rose 4.6 per cent in the 13 weeks to 28 September, while like-for-like cycling sales outperformed [...]
Do Halfords results spell an ongoing improving trend? October 4, 2012 SANJAY VIDYARTHI | ESPIRITO SANTO Halfords has delivered a very strong second quarter sales performance and what is particularly encouraging is that we don’t see this as just a one-off Olympics related boost to bike sales. Other categories, including the important, high margin car maintenance category have also performed better than expected. BETHANY HOCKING | [...]
Promethean falls as it is hit by US school cuts October 4, 2012 SHARES in interactive whiteboard maker Promethean World plummeted yesterday, wiping more than 25 per cent off the company’s value, as the firm issued a fresh profit warning. Promethean, which generates most of its revenues from whiteboard sales to US schools, said it had not seen the boost it had expected during the start of the [...]
Premier splits bread into a separate unit October 3, 2012 PREMIER FOODS said yesterday it had hired Geoff Eaton, the former boss of puddings manufacturer Uniq, as its new chief operating officer while also announcing a further shake-up of its business. Eaton, who left Uniq after it was taken over by Greencore, will replace Tim Kelly, who left the company following a management reshuffle last [...]