Mouchel pans Costain’s new takeover bid January 6, 2011 CONSTRUCTION firm Costain made an increased all-share offer for struggling business services group Mouchel yesterday, which valued the firm at around £150m, excluding its near-£100m debts. Mouchel, which acts as a consultant on infrastructure projects, rejected the offer yesterday afternoon, claiming that the bid significantly undervalued the business. Costain said it would offer 0.5947 new [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS January 6, 2011 Syndicate Asset Management The fund management group has promoted Jeremy Rance to the role of chief operating officer for the group. He will now be in charge of organising operational performance across all of the group’s subsidiaries. He joined the company in June last year at its subsidiary Ashcourt Rowan, having previously worked at Barclays, [...]
AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WORLD: LORD FORSYTH REACHES THE SUMMIT January 5, 2011 FOLLOWING The Capitalist’s update on Tuesday regarding the progress of the eminent Lord Forsyth, he wrote yesterday with a triumphant missive and picture: He has at last reached the top of Antarctica’s highest mountain and had just enough energy left to take a few snaps of himself brandishing an ice pick atop the summit. The [...]
Pace of UK’s growth starts to slow down December 22, 2010 GROWTH in the middle of the year was slightly less than previously estimated, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday. The economy expanded by 0.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2010, and by 1.1 per cent in the second. Yet the ONS revised both levels down by 0.1 per cent on their [...]
ECONOMIST VIEWS: ARE YOU CONCERNED BY THE DOWNWARD REVISIONS? December 22, 2010 HOWARD ARCHER | IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT While disappointing, it does not fundamentally change the picture that economic activity held up well in the third quarter after robust growth in the second quarter. PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC Well the broad picture remains the same, which is that GDP growth was impressively robust over the second quarter [...]
Economist views: what is your take on the state of public finances? December 21, 2010 PHILIP SHAW | INVESTEC Today’s figures are a reality check which help justify the extent of the government’s fiscal consolidation. ANDREW LILICO | POLICY EXCHANGE This may be a rogue month for results. But without deficit reductions, things can soon turn for the worse. SIMON WARD | HENDERSON It is troubling that we’ve had two [...]
Simon tries to charm Capital shareholders December 19, 2010 SIMON Property will begin an international push to lure Capital Shopping Centres’ shareholders into accepting a takeover this week, after regulators imposed a 12 January deadline for a formal offer. Simon’s advisers on the deal – Citigroup, Lazard and Evercore – are set to meet with CSC shareholders in the UK and South Africa to [...]
Hammerson in exclusive talks to buy British malls worth £400m December 16, 2010 PROPERTY firm Hammerson has entered exclusive talks to buy six shopping centres worth around £400m from Kuwaiti property company St Martins, a source familiar with the deal said yesterday. Retail-focused Hammerson is the preferred bidder for malls including Centrale in Croydon and West 45 in Hammersmith, as well as several retail parks that includes Riverside [...]
ANALYST VIEWS: HAS SPORTS DIRECT TURNED THE CORNER? December 16, 2010 KATHARINE WYNNE| INVESTEC We place our forecasts and our price target under review, but continue to view a valuation which is more expensive than both Next [hold] and Debenhams [buy] on a lease adjusted basis as unjustified given the continuing concerns over corporate governance and the unresolved future financing arrangements. JONATHAN PRITCHARD| ORIEL SECURITIES The [...]
UK unemployment in unexpected rise December 15, 2010 Unemployment in the UK increased by 35,000 in the three months to October to 2.5m, according to official figures. It is the first time that the jobless measure has risen for six months. The increase pushed the unemployment rate up to 7.9 per cent, the figures from the Office for National Statistics showed. However, the [...]