CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS December 5, 2010 Linklaters Linklaters, the global law firm, has appointed Anne Byrne as UK head of real estate, based in London. Byrne, a partner since 2001, previously worked for Capital Shopping Centres and ProLogis and recently acted for UBS on its new European headquarters building at Broadgate. Linklaters also hired Yves Moreau as the global head of [...]
Unilever deal gets go-ahead November 17, 2010 ANGLO-DUTCH consumer goods firm Unilever won EU regulatory approval yesterday for its $1.3bn (£817m) purchase of Sara Lee Corp’s bodycare business after pledging to divest some assets from the acquisition. The European Commission said Unilever’s plan to sell Sara Lee’s Sanex brand and related business in Europe had eased concerns that the takeover could hurt [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 15, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES INVESTORS SCEPTICAL OF UNILEVER GROWTH PLAN For a company whose products clutter the shelves of virtually every home in the UK – not to mention plenty in Brazil, Indonesia and China – Unilever’s shares are not in demand. The maker of Dove soap, Persil detergent and PG Tips tea managed to confound analyst [...]
Rok calls in administrator November 8, 2010 SOCIAL housing company Rok stunned investors yesterday by filing for administration less than two months after management declared its confidence in the business. The Essex-based firm, which employs 3,800 people, released a terse statement to the stock market yesterday and PricewaterhouseCooper were later appointed as administrator. The firm issued a profit warning in August, but [...]
BEST OF THE BROKERS November 7, 2010 ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND Standard & Poor’s has upgraded the State-backed bank to “buy” from “hold”, but has trimmed its 12 month target price by 1p to 57p. The broker notes that RBS’s results last week confirmed the bank is on track to deliver profit next year, and expects a significant uplift in profitability over [...]
Unilever sees sales rise despite tough market conditions November 4, 2010 UNILEVER saw its underlying sales rise by 3.6 per cent in the third quarter – but warned it could raise prices because of rising commodity costs. The Anglo-Dutch consumer giant, whose products include Knorr Soups and Dove soap, was upbeat about the company’s prospects despite consumers tightening their belts. After the announcement yesterday shares in [...]
FTSE rockets to pre-crisis level as investors bet on US recovery November 4, 2010 BRITAIN’S top shares closed at their highest in nearly 29 months yesterday as investors responded bullishly to the US Federal Reserve’s decision to pump more cheap money into the economy to boost flagging growth. Financial stocks, led by Man Group and mining and energy shares such as BHP Billiton and BP, surged higher as riskier [...]
Serco makes humiliating rebate U-turn November 1, 2010 SERCO, the FTSE 100 outsourcing firm, was forced into a grovelling apology yesterday for demanding money back from suppliers, despite promising the government it would not do so. In September Serco financial director Andrew Jenner wrote to the company’s 193 biggest suppliers saying that “like the government, we are looking to determine who our real [...]
NAB sees UK profits double October 27, 2010 THE owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks announced a rise in full year pre-tax profits of over 50 per cent yesterday after it advanced £4.7bn in mortgages and wrote down fewer bad debts. National Australia Bank (NAB) said lending had been subdued in the year to 30 September but that it was “firmly on track” [...]
Danone sours views despite sales jump October 21, 2010 FRENCH food group Danone warned yesterday the economic landscape would continue to hit sales in Europe, as it posted a 15 per cent growth in third-quarter revenue to €4.35bn (£3.86bn) after strong dairy sales in emerging markets. The world’s biggest yoghurt maker maintained its full-year targets after offsetting a 2.1 per cent like-for-like sales growth [...]