Severn Trent to target bonds at retail investors June 21, 2012 INDIVIDUAL investors will have the chance to buy bonds from FTSE 100 utilities firm Severn Trent, the company announced yesterday. The company hopes to raise up to £100m from the scheme, which will offer individuals a return of 1.9 per cent above retail price inflation (RPI) over the next 10 years. “There’s a lot of [...]
ADVISERS June 21, 2012 BARCLAYS TOBY CROASDELL CHARLOTTE WEIR Severn Trent’s inflation-linked bond issue is the first move by a water company into the fast-growing market for RPI-linked bonds. The deal was jointly arranged by Investec and a Barclays team that included directors Toby Croasdell of the fixed income syndicate and Charlotte Weir of corporate debt capital markets. This [...]
Jubilee gives grocers £200m turnover boost June 19, 2012 BRITAIN’S grocery market grew 3.2 per cent in the 12 weeks to 10 June, boosted by an 11.3 per cent leap in the run-up to the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee celebrations, industry data revealed yesterday. Market researcher Kantar WorldPanel said supermarkets took an extra £213m in the tills in the week ending 3 June. “The [...]
Tesco pays to dispose of its Japanese arm June 18, 2012 SUPERMARKET giant Tesco yesterday ended a nine-year attempt to crack Japan’s tough retail market by effectively paying Aeon, the country’s second-biggest general retailer, to take its loss-making business off its hands. The deal, which will allow Tesco to focus on fixing its main British business after a shock profit warning in January, will re-heat speculation [...]
RAPID RESPONSES June 18, 2012 Grexit postponed [Re: Greece jumps out of the fire and straight into the frying pan, yesterday] Many of the reform measures in the Memorandum of Understanding haven’t been implemented and never will be. Part of Greece’s debt could be paid off by privatising the power utility, the two major ports and the railways. Unions, however, [...]
Tesco to sell half its Japanese business to Aeon June 18, 2012 Supermarket giant Tesco is to sell half of its Japanese business for a nominal sum. Japan’s second biggest retailer Aeon Corp will has bought a 50 per cent share in the loss-making business for a nominal sum. Tesco put the unit up for sale last August, ending an eight-year attempt to break into the domestic [...]
Business world wins praise in the honours list June 17, 2012 CARPHONE Warehouse founder Charles Dunstone was the sole business leader awarded a knighthood in the Queen’s birthday honours for 2012, announced over the weekend, in a year that saw industry and economic leaders garner just 12 per cent of accolades, down more than a full percentage point from 2011. However, Sir John Parker, chairman of [...]
GENESIS SINGER CREATES DEAL WITH TESCO June 14, 2012 TESCO yesterday snapped up We7, the London-based digital music business, for £10.8m. Former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel, who co-founded the company alongside Steve Purdham in 2007, is set to pocket £2m from the deal. The business has yet to make a profit, but Purdham said earlier this year the milestone is not far away.
Sainsbury says it beat rivals but shares fall June 13, 2012 J SAINSBURY crowned itself “a Jubilee winner” after chief executive Justin King said the Queen’s celebrations helped the retailer continue to beat its rivals in the first quarter of 2012. Like-for-like sales rose 1.4 per cent in the 12 weeks to 9 June, while total sales rose 3.8 per cent excluding fuel, with savvy shoppers [...]
ANALYST VIEWS | DID SAINSBURY’S RESULTS DISAPPOINT? June 13, 2012 RICHARD HUNTER HARGREAVES LANSDOWNE Sainsbury’s rise in sales was steady but shy of expectations, with the shares reflecting a tinge of disappointment… The numbers were boosted by including the Jubilee weekend, unlike Tesco, and progress in clothing and online remained notably strong. CLIVE BLACK SHORE CAPITAL Sainsbury did continue to outperform the market and its [...]