Serco warns that sluggish sales in US will lead to a revenue dip June 26, 2012 OUTSOURCER Serco yesterday gave a downbeat trading update in which it said the US market was sluggish. The company, whose contracts include running prisons and the Docklands light railway, said it expected revenues to dip in the first half before picking up. It said the UK was proving resilient compared with its business across the [...]
WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS June 20, 2012 Sciens Tim Wilkinson has been appointed president of Sciens Fund of Funds Management Holdings, part of the Sciens Capital Management Group. Prior to joining the firm he was managing director at Russell Investments, and spent 15 years with Citigroup, latterly as global head of transition management. Wilkinson started his career at SG Warburg Securities. Banque [...]
Serco pays £55m for Vertex June 11, 2012 Outsourcer Serco yesterday said it had bought Vertex Data Science for £55m. The deal will bring the firm more government contracts including administering child maintenance grants and running job centres.
BORIS BIKE STAFF THREATEN OLYMPICS STRIKE May 30, 2012 JUST a day after strikes were averted on the Tube, workers on London’s Boris Bikes have threatened to walk out during the Olympics. The RMT union said it will ballot staff in a bid to secure reasonable working hours and a bonus during the Games. Operator Serco said the RMT was not a recognised union [...]
FTSE lurches towards worst month since August May 30, 2012 The FTSE 100 dipped this morning as the Eurozone’s debt woes continued to cast a shadow and hopes that China would trigger further fiscal stimulus were dealt a blow. Investors are awaiting the European Commission’s economic strategy on how austerity measures can be introduced without quashing the growth required for recovery. Concerns about Spain’s ability [...]
Charities need to be innovative to beat tough times May 29, 2012 PUBLIC services are being opened up to a variety of providers. If you go swimming, social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Limited, not the council, may well be running the pool. Your rubbish is more likely to be collected by a private company. And if you have a relative in need of social care, then it’s likely [...]
BEST of the BROKERS May 27, 2012 BREWIN DOLPHIN Numis rates the investment manager “sell” with a target price of 110p ahead of its interim results tomorrow. The broker expects a drop in adjusted earnings per share, from 6.7p a year ago to 4.5p – much lower than consensus estimates of 6.7p. Numis warns that consensus forecasts seem to be overlooking a [...]
FTSE edges up but Eurozone gloom continues May 24, 2012 The FTSE 100 staged a tentative recovery in early trading although an inconclusive meeting of Eurozone leaders offered little prospect of a plan to save Greece. Overnight the EU said it wanted Greece to stay in the fold but contingency plans are already underway for an exit from the euro for the debt laden country. [...]
Serco in talks with Amec over sale of nuclear advice business May 23, 2012 OUTSOURCER Serco said yesterday that it was in talks with Amec over the sale of its technical consulting business (TCS). Serco’s TCS provides provides safety advice to the nuclear industry. Amec, an engineering consultancy to the energy sector, has yet to make any formal offer the two companies said. Serco bought TCS for £75m in [...]
Serco starts the year with £4bn contracts win May 14, 2012 OUTSOURCING firm Serco has won nearly £4bn of contracts so far this year, but said yesterday its revenues from the Americas had slumped. The FTSE 100-listed group, which runs services from the Docklands Light Railway to prisons and air traffic control centres around the world, said it expected first-half revenue to grow by around six [...]