Best of the Brokers for 07 August 2014 August 6, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com BAE SYSTEMS Westhouse Securities has maintained its “sell” rating for BAE Systems, noting soft bill-to-book ratios and concerns over the US defence budget. It has praised BAE’s growing commercial cyber-security department and core UK business, leaving the target price unchanged. SERCO GROUP Numis [...]
Ed Ballsed-up behind wheel but it’s (a) fine – and five points on his driving licence August 5, 2014 Ed Balls managed to swerve a driving ban yesterday, his lawyers racing away from Leeds magistrates with just a £1,000 fine and five points for the shadow chancellor. The charge? He failed to stop after hitting a parked car. Of course, the Labour shadow minister is walking (or, driving) a thin line – he’s already [...]
UK company profit warnings at three year high, says report July 27, 2014 The number of profit warnings issued by FTSE 100 companies was at a three-year high in the first quarter, according to a report by Ernst & Young. In its quarterly Analysis of UK Profit Warnings report, the consultancy firm revealed that companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a total of 74 warnings [...]
Fresh contracts worth £1.3bn boost Capita’s first-half revenues July 23, 2014 A STREAM of major contract wins, including a £145m deal with Transport for London, helped outsourcing firm Capita’s profit to soar in the first half of the year. The FTSE 100-listed firm said yesterday that it secured £1.3bn in new contracts over the period, including a 10-year £400m agreement to support the management of the [...]
Capita share price up as outsourcing firm picked for new prisoner tagging contract July 16, 2014 Outsourcing firm Capita will manage a six-year prisoner tagging contract previously held by G4S and Serco, the Ministry of Justice confirmed yesterday. The FTSE 100-listed company has been managing the service on an interim basis since April, after G4S and Serco were found to have overcharged the government. The new contract is worth £228.8m. Three [...]
Serco fails to win rebid for Docklands Light Railway July 4, 2014 Troubled outsourcing firm Serco has received yet more bad news today as Transport for London informed the company it had failed in its rebid to operate and maintain the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). After 17 years of running the DLR Serco will hand it over to a venture between Keolis and Amey. However, Serco was [...]
Serco share price dips as outsourcing firm writes down value of some contracts July 3, 2014 Beleaguered outsourcing firm Serco yesterday warned that it would have to write down the value of several large loss-making contracts, which could hamper its full-year results. Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company dipped almost one per cent on the news, with UK contracts for asylum seeker housing and clinical healthcare set to be among the [...]
Bottom Line: Shareholders need Churchillian spirit July 3, 2014 NEWS of Rupert Soames’ appointment as Serco chief executive cheered the market back in February, sending the scandal-struck outsourcing firm’s share price up more than 10 per cent. With his impressive lineage as Sir Winston Churchill’s grandson and his remarkable track record at the helm of Aggreko, Soames inspired confidence in Serco’s investors that he [...]
Institute of Directors’ summer party an alternative to Cool Britannia June 30, 2014 It was a remarkably wintery night at for the Institute of Directors’ summer party on the Parliament Terrace Pavilion yesterday evening but it certainly did not stop play. Attendees may not have been at David Cameron’s Cool Britannia party, but the aforementioned event didn’t go without a nod. “David Cameron is busy hosting a party [...]
Glastonbury no longer just for hippies as City gets ready to party June 26, 2014 Once the reserve of hippies and staunch lefties, Glastonbury has started to appeal to a much wider audience, with luxury winnebagos for £8,250 a pop for those not in favour of pitching tents. This year, we’re expecting Glasto regulars RLM Finsbury founder Roland Rudd, Deloitte head of property Andy Rothery, Serco’s newbie chief Rupert Soames [...]