Wiseman milking the profits May 17, 2010 ROBERT Wiseman Dairies has reported a jump in full-year pre-tax profits of 60 per cent to a record £49.2m. The firm said the results had been boosted by a rise in cream prices and a £1.9m cut in a fine imposed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Meanwhile, Alan Wiseman has announced he will [...]
Alliance Boots profit tops £1bn for first time May 17, 2010 BRITAIN’S biggest pharmacy chain Alliance Boots has posted annual profits of more than £1bn – becoming only the third UK retailer to pass that milestone. The group, bought in 2007 by private equity firm KKR and executive chairman Stefano Pessina for £11bn in Europe’s biggest leveraged buyout, said the 13 per cent increase in trading [...]
Hornby set to reveal £1bn Boots profit May 16, 2010 ANDY HORNBY, the man associated with the near-collapse of HBOS, will return to the limelight today as he announces an estimated £1bn profit at the helm of Alliance Boots. Hornby is expected to say the private equity-owned healthcare and beauty products retailer’s trading profit for the year to 31 March grew at a faster pace [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS May 13, 2010 State Street Global Advisors The investment manager has appointed Lynn Blake as head of index equity. Blake, 45, is a long-standing veteran of the firm, having first joined 23 years ago. She has held positions as a portfolio manager and head of non-US markets in the global structured products group. She succeeds Paul Brakke, 53, [...]
Clarke to become chief executive at Asda while Bond steps up to chairman May 11, 2010 CHIEF operating officer of Asda, Andy Clarke, has been appointed to the role of chief executive and president of the US-owned supermarket. His promotion follows last month’s announcement by Andy Bond that he would step up to become part-time chairman at the retailer. Clarke joined Asda in 1992 but left in 2001 for roles at [...]
Sovereign debt risk sparks worry over banks May 9, 2010 HEADING into last week, the markets were still primarily focused on politics. Would Greece receive aid money from fellow European countries? Would politicians come together and back fiscal measures to stem Greek debt contagion? Who would win the general election in Britain? Previously peaceful anti-austerity protests in Greece took a turn for the worse, investors [...]
Andy Clarke set to land Asda chief executive role May 6, 2010 ASDA is tipped to promote its chief operating officer, Andy Clarke, to the top job next week following chief executive Andy Bond’s decision to step aside. Clarke is understood to have been selected ahead of several internal candidates including Darren Blackhurst, Asda’s punchy trading director. Blackhurst has now resigned after five years at the Wal-Mart [...]
RSA premiums rise despite Chile losses May 6, 2010 BRITISH based insurer RSA saw premiums rise by five per cent during the first quarter, despite taking a £30m hit from the Chilean earthquake in February and a series of bad weather in Europe at the start of the year. RSA reported a net premium of £1.9bn during the period and said the increase indicated [...]
FTSE falls for fourth day as fears over scale of Greek crisis continue to weigh May 6, 2010 BRITAIN’S leading shares fell for the fourth straight session yesterday, led by banks and miners weighed by uncertainty over euro zone debt concerns, as Britain’s electorate went to the polls. The FTSE 100 index closed down 80.94 points, or 1.5 per cent, at 5,260.99 just above a support level of 5,259 given by analysts. The [...]
Choosing the most suitable card is not a zero-sum game May 6, 2010 WHEN Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank announced earlier this week their offer of 0 per cent interest on balance transfers for the first 16 months, it threw the cat among the pigeons. The two banks, both UK subsidiaries of National Australia Bank, leapt straight to the top of the best-buy comparison tables with the deal, [...]