AIM delistings soar as M&A deals in the market increase October 3, 2010 THE NUMBER of companies removing themselves from the AIM stock market rose by 25 per cent in the last quarter to 45, according to research out today. Of the 45 firms that delisted, 20 did so because of merger and acquisitions, said law firm Trowers & Hamlins and accountant UHY Hacker Young. M&A activity now [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 29, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES WAITROSE EYES DUCHY ORIGINALS US PUSH Waitrose is making its first foray into the US through its Duchy Originals range, the label founded by Prince Charles. The supermarket arm of the employee-owned John Lewis Partnership is talking to North American retailers and distributors about selling Duchy Originals products in US stores. PENSIONS REGULATOR [...]
LLPs are not as safe as you might think September 28, 2010 THE LIMITED Liability Partnership vehicle is now a decade old, but its uptake has reportedly surged amid economic hard times. Members of insolvent LLPs are certainly better off than their counterparts in insolvent partnerships, who must routinely dig into their own pockets to meet creditors’ claims. This summer, though, saw the first high-profile collapse of [...]
JJB warns that sales stalling September 28, 2010 Sportswear retailer JJB Sports said trading conditions had got tougher in recent weeks as shoppers brace themselves for higher taxes and big cuts in public spending. The group, which teetered on the brink of insolvency in 2009, said sales at stores open at least a year rose 18 per cent from August 2 to August [...]
PERSONAL FINANCE NEWS September 23, 2010 LONDONERS WORRY ABOUT DEBT… R3, an insolvency trade body, has conducted research showing that 40 per cent of adults in the UK are anxious about their personal debt levels. Londoners are most affected: 49 per cent admitted being concerned. Nationwide, credit card debt is the source of the greatest worry at 51 per cent, followed [...]
Workers struggle before each monthly payday, research finds September 19, 2010 MORE than four in 10 adults in Britain struggle each month to make it to payday, according to research for insolvency trade body R3, which shows that for the average person this struggle begins on the 20th day after payday. The main causes for this struggle, cited by around 50 per cent of respondents, are [...]
Government cuts herald tough times for services firms September 12, 2010 CONNAUGHT’S high-profile collapse has ushered in a period of intense difficulty for other services companies, according to the latest monthly City A.M./Begbies Traynor health monitor for the Square Mile. The social housing maintenance specialist, which fell into administration last week, is not alone in having felt the pressure of impending government spending cutbacks and poor-quality [...]
KPMG looks to hand over Connaught jobs September 8, 2010 HOUSING repair firm Connaught formally appointed KPMG as its administrator yesterday, as rival property companies looked to take over the collapsed firm’s contracts. KPMG will keep the firm’s property maintenance arm trading until it has farmed out its contracts to other providers. Around 4,400 people face redundancy. Richard Heis, joint administrator, said the group had [...]
Connaught “on brink of administration” September 7, 2010 Connaught, the property services group that specialises in social housing, is on the brink of going into administration, the BBC has reported. The company, which employs 10,000 people, has suspended trading of its shares, and said a further announcement would be made “in due course”. Connaught has £220m of debt, provided by six banks and [...]
Bernanke: I messed up over Lehman September 2, 2010 US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday said he was partly to blame for leaving the wrong impression that the central bank could have saved Lehman Brothers from failure in 2008. Bernanke, testifying before a congressional commission examining the causes of the worst financial crisis in 80 years, said he thought it “very likely” the [...]