Old Mutual to raise up to $268m in sale June 17, 2015 OLD MUTUAL yesterday increased the size of a forthcoming selldown of shares in its US money management, which could net the group $268m. The UK listed group floated the US unit, Old Mutual Asset Management (OM Asset Management), in New York last October at $14 a share. Old Mutual said yesterday it would sell 13.3m [...]
Five FinTech startups to watch: RBS, Lloyds and American Express back finance innovation June 17, 2015 Five tech startups seeking to disrupt the financial industry have caught the eye of some of the world's leading firms in the sector. A savings app, a company using visual cryptography to create secure passwords and a real-time sales platform for local businesses are just three of the winners in the search for startups creating [...]
Applegreen IPO: Irish owners net €20m in petrol station listing June 16, 2015 Two Irish entrepreneurs are in line for a €20m (£14.37m) windfall after floating their petrol forecourt business on the London stock exchange. Bob Etchingham and Joe Barrett, who founded Irish petrol station group Applegreen 23 years ago, will net €15m and €5m respectively from the listing, according to regulatory documents filed yesterday. Both [...]
H&M beats forecasts as currency movements work in its favour June 15, 2015 Swedish fashion retailer H&M posted a bigger-than expected jump in sales in May, helped by weakness of the Swedish crown against other international currencies. H&M has benefitted from a recovering US economy, a stronger online presence and a broader product offering, which includes new brands such as & Other Stories and sales of homeware. Sales [...]
China’s crunch point is approaching fast – CNBC Comment June 15, 2015 China will grow this year at a rate that will put the developed world to shame. It will probably grow next year and the year after that too. But the country’s 7 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate is not what the market cares about. It cares about momentum and performance relative to [...]
Why the New Zealand dollar still has further to fall – DailyFX Tips & Picks June 15, 2015 The Reserve Bank of New Zealand did indeed cut rates at last week’s meeting, catching the markets off guard. The Official Cash Rate was reduced by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent. New Zealand dollar-dollar followed suit and declined to $0.6940 from $0.7230, before price started to digest its losses. We expect New Zealand [...]
Tesco must find £5bn to rebuild its balance sheet, says Moody’s June 15, 2015 Troubled Tesco will need to find £5bn in order to relieve the pressure on its overstretched balance sheet, according to credit ratings agency Moody's. Read more: Here's what assets has Tesco sold off and what's heading to the checkout "It has a relatively high level of debt – also adjusted debt, such as the pension deficit and [...]
Majestic Wine profits fall after group makes big investments for the future with Naked Wines aquisition June 15, 2015 Majestic Wine’s profits fell 12.2 per cent during 2015, after the company spent big in acquiring rival Naked Wines. Chief executive Rowan Gormley admitted the company will suffer a short-term hit to its profit as it looked to invest in the short term. The figures Adjusted profit before tax fell to £20.9m in the 52 weeks [...]
House of Fraser owner Sanpower eyes takeover of toy shop Hamleys June 15, 2015 The Chinese owner of House of Fraser is rumoured to be planning another buying spree in the UK with the country’s most famous toy shop Hamleys next on its shopping list. Yuan Yafei, the chairman of Nanjing-based conglomerate Sanpower, is understood to be in talks to buy the famous chain from its French owner, [...]
Net-a-Porter ups its style after making first profit in five years June 14, 2015 NET-A-PORTER has reported its maiden profit since being snapped up by Swiss luxury group Richemont five years ago after investments in the business paid off. The online fashion retailer, which agreed to merge with Italian rival Yoox in March, swung to a pre-tax profit of £11m in the year to 31 March, from a £9.7m [...]