De La Rue chief moves to UBM in shock departure February 25, 2014 THE CHIEF executive of bank note printer De La Rue is stepping down to take up the top role at media giant UBM, the two firms said yesterday. Tim Cobbold will leave the FTSE 250 firm on 29 March, to join UBM – a company in a different sector and twice the size by market [...]
Investors from US help ignite Kennedy Wilson February 25, 2014 SHARES in Kennedy Wilson Europe, part of a Beverley Hills-based property group that has raised £1.1bn to invest in European properties, got off to a strong start in London yesterday. Earlier this month the group said it planned to raise between £500m and £750m from investors but decided to go for over £1bn in order [...]
Persimmon to bring forward £1.9bn payout February 25, 2014 PERSIMMON says it will bring forward a £1.9bn payout to shareholders after a strong rebound in the housing market and a surge in customer demand helped the housebuilder to more than double profits last year. The company plans to return 115p per share to shareholders by 2021, but announced plans yesterday to make additional dividend [...]
GKN slides as it warns currency movements could hit outlook February 25, 2014 GKN’S share price fell more than one per cent yesterday, after the engineering firm warned that adverse currency movements could hinder its performance this year. The market reacted negatively despite the FTSE 100 firm reporting a 17 per cent rise in pre-tax profit for 2013, thanks to strong trading from its automotive business, due to [...]
Strong demand for European property gets Kennedy Wilson off to a flying start February 25, 2014 There was much excitement this afternoon about the first day's trading in London in the shares of Kennedy Wilson Europe, part of a Beverley Hills, California-based property group that has raised £1.1bn to invest in European properties. Earlier this month the group said it planned to raise between £500-750m from investors but decided to go [...]
UBM and De La Rue see shares fall after director upheaval February 25, 2014 Directorate changes are seeing shares slide this morning. Media company UBM announced this morning that Tim Cobbold has been appointed as its new chief executive, ending its five-month search for someone to replace David Levin. Shares lost almost one per cent at the open and are now down around 0.5 per cent. Roddy Davidson, analyst [...]
St James’s Place eyes up Asian business as profits jump February 25, 2014 Wealth management group St James’s Place has announced a 42 per cent increase in profit before shareholder tax to £190.7m in 2013. The FTSE 250 firm saw total new single investment rise 22 per cent to £7.2bn, with funds under management up 27 per cent to £44.3bn. It said its full-year dividend increased 50 per [...]
Persimmon profits more than double on booming demand February 25, 2014 Another house builder riding the wave of surging demand. Following bumper results from Bovis yesterday, Persimmon has said this morning that its profit before tax more than doubled in 2013. The 54.5 per cent increase to £337.1m came about as the group “responded quickly” to growing customer demand, outperforming its original long term plan. Chairman Nicolas [...]
Bunzl soars as spending spree boosts earnings February 24, 2014 SHARES in Bunzl soared nearly seven per cent yesterday, after the distribution and outsourcing group unveiled full-year results that beat expectations and new acquisitions. The FTSE 100-quoted firm posted adjusted earnings per share of 82.4p in 2013, which was five per cent above market forecasts and a 15 per cent increase on 2012. The dividend [...]
Merlin to bring Shrek and Friends attraction to London February 24, 2014 Themepark company Merlin Entertainments and animation studio DreamWorks have announced the launch of a new "Shrek's Far Far Away Adventure" attraction. Based on the animated films, the attraction will join Merlin's five other brands – Legoland, Madame Tussaunds, Sea Life, The Dungeons, and The Eye. Shrek's universe is the most successful animated franchise of all [...]