Melrose ups Charter offer July 14, 2011 ENGINEERING turnaround firm Melrose has increased its offer for Charter International to 840p per share, valuing the welding equipment supplier at about £1.4bn. The improved offer comes after Charter rebuffed a 780p per share approach from Melrose late last month, the board stating that the bid undervalued the company. The struggling firm, which saw the [...]
Asos gets boost from overseas sales July 14, 2011 ONLINE fashion retailer Asos saw sales soar in the first quarter, but boss Nick Robertson dismissed speculation that the company was being seriously eyed as a takeover target. Asos, which targets young trendy customers, said its retail sales increased 69 per cent to £104.2m in the three months to 30 June. International sales soared 160 [...]
EU dithering could bring on Armageddon July 13, 2011 GREECE is running out of time, its Prime Minister warned yesterday, even as Germany batted off suggestions that it should attend an emergency summit on Friday and instead put off the meeting until next week. The markets were unimpressed by this latest bout of dithering over the timing of the Eurozone’s next crisis talks, with [...]
Greencore to buy rival Uniq in £113m deal July 12, 2011 GREENCORE has made a £113m offer for rival food company Uniq as it paves the way for a delisting in Ireland ahead of joining the London market. The Dublin-based company, which is one of Britain’s biggest providers of ready meals, said its 96p per share offer has received the backing of Uniq’s board, which put [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS July 12, 2011 BRITVIC RBS rates the soft drinks maker a “buy” with a £5 target price as it believes Britvic has now hedged against 95 per cent of its input cost inflation – expected to be 9-11 per cent in the UK this year – leaving it protected against further shocks. RBS expects third-quarter trading to be [...]
UK trade gap widens as manufacturing exports stall July 12, 2011 The gap between the UK’s imports and exports widened in May, new figures show, in a surprise move that alarmed economists. The trade deficit rose to £4.1bn from £3.1bn in April, as a service sector surplus failed to offset a collapse in exports of manufactured goods. The Office of National Statistics data showed the goods [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS July 10, 2011 BNP Paribas Martin Egan has been appointed to the newly created role of UK head of fixed income at BNP Paribas Corporate & Investment Banking, based in London. Egan will continue his current responsibilities as global head of primary markets and origination, reporting to Ludovic de Montille, chairman of BNP Paribas Group in the UK [...]
Britain’s factories spring back from April’s slump July 7, 2011 MANUFACTURING output rose at its fastest pace in over a year in May as factories ramped up output after a royal wedding-related drop in April, official data showed yesterday. Manufacturing production jumped 1.8 per cent between April and May, after a 1.6 per cent drop in April. Yet the wider measure of industrial production only [...]
Workspace plans cut-price rights issue July 7, 2011 BUSINESS landlord Workspace Group is to raise £63m in a deeply discounted rights issue, as part of plans to accelerate investment in its portfolio of buildings. The one-for-four rights issue is being made at a price of 23p per new ordinary share, representing a 21 per cent discount to the stock’s Wednesday night close. The [...]
Earnings up at building group Carillion on better margins and good order book July 7, 2011 BUILDING firm Carillion said first-half underlying earnings grew strongly, helped by improved margins in its support services unit, and added it was well placed to deliver growth in 2011. “Margins are moving forwards in both support services and construction services. This statement puts Carillion on track for the eighth successive year of exceeding market expectations,” [...]