JJB launches life-saving rent cut plan March 3, 2011 STRUGGLING sportswear retailer JJB Sports is offering its landlords a share of up to £7.5m if they back its rescue plan. The company, in which America’s richest man Bill Gates holds a 5.5 per cent stake set out the details of its second company voluntary arrangement (CVA) in as many years. It needs creditors, including [...]
ECB’s Trichet hints at April rate rise March 3, 2011 The European Central Bank may hike interest rates next month, far earlier than markets expected, President Jean-Claude Trichet has said. Trichet dismissed the idea that a rate rise in April could be bigger than 25 basis points, saying that such a scenario was “not the appropriate interpretation”. “The position of the Governing Council is that [...]
Admiral ups profits 25pc March 2, 2011 PROFITS at motor and home insurer Admiral jumped almost a quarter in 2010 but investors shied away yesterday over fears its growth may not be sustainable. UK growth drove Admiral’s pre-tax profit up to £266m from £216m in 2009 in a seventh straight year of growth, while turnover rose 47 per cent to £1.58bn from [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: ARE ITV’S RESULTS AS GOOD AS THEY LOOK? March 2, 2011 LORNA TILBIAN | NUMIS ITV was one of our key picks for 2011 and we retain our ‘buy’ recommendation. The first-quarter is up 12 per cent and April is currently 8-12 per cent better, though comparatives get markedly harder through 2011, particularly due to the World Cup. We are raising our target price to 115p. [...]
Rich rewards for Coffee Nation team after sale March 2, 2011 COFFEE Nation’s chief executive Scott Martin and his team will be sharing an estimated £11.9m pot after Whitbread yesterday announced that it had paid £59.5m in cash for the company. The management team bought the self service coffee company in 2008 with private equity backing from Investec and Milestone Capital. Other Coffee Nation executives in [...]
Serco insists it will grow despite cuts March 2, 2011 OUTSOURCING group Serco posted a 21 per cent rise in full-year profit yesterday, helped by strong revenue growth in the Americas, as the firm insisted that UK government spending cuts will not damage the firm. Chief executive Chris Hyman told analysts yesterday that “if we’ve got the skills and capabilities, we will see the growth” [...]
International Power profits rise March 2, 2011 INTERNATIONAL Power (IP), the producer majority owned by French utility GDF Suez, yesterday posted yearly profit slightly above market expectations, with growth in the Middle East offsetting slowing sales in the UK and US. The firm, which was formally taken over by GDF last month, said yesterday underlying profit from operations was down about three [...]
GKN profits jump on car sales growth March 1, 2011 ENGINEERING group GKN quadrupled its profit to £363m last year, the firm said yesterday, on the back of strong sales of car and plane parts. The FTSE 100-listed firm, which makes engines and frames for Airbus and Boeing, said total sales rose 20 per cent to £5.08bn. “The aerospace market has remained subdued although civil [...]
Revenue up as public purse hits a surplus February 22, 2011 CHANCELLOR George Osborne received a double boost yesterday, after the government recorded its largest monthly surplus for two years, and the US treasury secretary gave a ringing endorsement of the coalition’s austerity plan. The government’s preferred measure of borrowing, which excludes financial sector interventions, revealed a £3.7bn surplus, as tax revenues soared. Total borrowing including [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: IS THE GOVERNMENT ON COURSE TO SLASH THE DEFICIT? February 22, 2011 HETAL MEHTA | DAIWA CAPITAL The figures are a relatively small improvement from a wretched position last year when we had the first ever January deficit. The government still has a long way to go in terms of reining in its expenditure. Next month’s budget will show how committed it is to bringing the public [...]