London Report: Aberdeen Asset Management buy lifts FTSE November 18, 2013 BRITAIN’S top equity index rose slightly yesterday, lifted by a rally in Aberdeen Asset Management and ambitious economic reform plans in China, a key export market for some UK blue chips. Shares in Aberdeen jumped 14.7 per cent, the biggest daily gain in five years, after it bought SWIP, Lloyds Banking Group’s fund management arm, [...]
Costa owner Whitbread looks for Habgood successor November 14, 2013 Whitbread, the owner of Costa Coffee and Premier Inn, is on a hunt for a successor to Anthony Habgood, reports Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman. The FTSE 100 group, which also owns Beefeater and Table Table, has brought in headhunters to find a new chairman. Habgood, who also chairs Reed Elsevier, is likely to [...]
Freight demand hurts Wincanton November 7, 2013 WAREHOUSE and freight provider Wincanton yesterday reported a two per cent dip in revenue as demand from the UK retail sector continued to remain sluggish. The company, which caters to clients such as Unilever, Tesco and Marks & Spencer, said sales fell to £542.3m in the six months to the end of September, from £551.2m [...]
Inside Track: Carney must act to stop new EU rules hitting UK banks November 6, 2013 Well that didn’t last long. Optimism about a rapprochement between the Bank of England and major international banks has had the City bewitched since Mark Carney’s intervention last month to relax liquidity rules, marking a distinct break with the approach of his predecessor, Lord King. It may not be quite that straightforward: two subsequent developments [...]
Rothschild to advise on Poundland’s flotation November 4, 2013 BUDGET retailer Poundland has lined up Rothschild to advise on its upcoming public offering, which is expected to value the firm at more than £700m. The investment bank, which declined to comment on the issue, is expected to bring in other advisers to work on the flotation in the next few weeks. Poundland – which [...]
Unilever hit by sales slowdown in key markets October 24, 2013 UNILEVER, the consumer goods giant behind Wall’s ice-cream and Persil laundry detergent, reported a 6.5 per cent slump in turnover in the third quarter after suffering a dramatic slowdown in emerging markets. The FTSE 100 group has been hit by a slowdown in countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and India after uncertainty over whether the [...]
Analyst Views: Have Unilever’s third quarter figures altered your outlook? October 24, 2013 MARTIN DEBOO INVESTEC “We read third quarter sales as in line with expectations, no great surprise given the 30 September warning. Despite the downbeat tone, Unilever are sticking to full-year guidance and their expectation of a better fourth quarter. We keep faith, but continue to urge more radical action on foods disposals. KEITH BOWMAN HARGREAVES [...]
Emerging markets prop up Unilever’s modest growth October 24, 2013 Unilever has announced steady progress in its third quarter results, despite slower markets. (Release) During the quarter, underlying sales grew 3.2 per cent, with emerging markets up 5.9 per cent. Chief executive officer Paul Polman commented that emerging markets continue to be the company's main growth driver, despite the current slowdown. He said that the [...]
London Report: GDP figures and housing prices reveal recovery October 20, 2013 GROSS domestic product (GDP) figures due on Friday are expected to reveal the UK’s solid recovery prospects, coupled with further good news from Nationwide and Rightmove housing figures earlier in the week. Analysts predict further improvement in the economy, with third quarter GDP expected to rise. “We expect GDP to rise 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter. [...]
Emerging markets help to drive growth at consumer giant Nestle October 17, 2013 NESTLE said yesterday that an improvement in emerging market demand helped to lift sales growth in the third quarter, reassuring investors worried by recent negative news from European peers Danone and Unilever. The world’s biggest food group and its rivals have been grappling with sluggish consumer demand in austerity-hit Europe, where prices for Nestle’s products [...]