Ocado co-founder Jason Gissing offloads 3m shares worth £15m February 6, 2014 OCADO’S outgoing commercial director and co-founder Jason Gissing sold shares worth £15m on the day that the online grocer announced full-year losses of £12.5m. Gissing, who announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving the company, sold just over three million shares on the same day at 498.75p each, reducing his stake by 0.52 per [...]
Beazley beats analyst forecasts thanks to fewer catastrophes February 6, 2014 BEAZLEY saw its share price jump 5.76 per cent yesterday, after it issued strong results for 2013 trading. The specialist insurer beat analysts’ expectations to issue a pre-tax profit of $313.3m (£191.9m) for last year, up 25 per cent on 2012. Chief executive Andrew Horton said: “Beazley delivered an exceptional underwriting performance in 2013, reflected [...]
Imagination shares lift as Apple extends its iPhone chip contract February 6, 2014 IMAGINATION Technologies saw its shares rocket as much as 20 per cent yesterday after it renewed a multi-year contract with Apple to supply the iPhone-maker with graphics chips for its devices. Since the beginning of 2012 Imagination’s share price has plummeted by over 75 per cent on fears that the chip maker was losing market [...]
London Report: Vodafone helps FTSE eat further into 2014 losses February 6, 2014 BRITAIN’s top equity index rose for a second straight day yesterday, led by strong gains from heavyweight telecoms group which helped the market recover its poise after a recent five-day losing streak. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index, which had fallen for five straight days during the past two weeks, closed up 100.39 points, or 1.6 [...]
Royal Mail float helps deliver Hargreaves lift February 5, 2014 FUND platform Hargreaves Lansdown yesterday said strong demand from retail investors for shares in Royal Mail helped deliver a rise in revenues and new business. The company, which operates as an online investment supermarket where DIY investors can buy funds, said revenues rose 13 per cent year on year for six months ending December to [...]
Glaxo insists its pipeline will be key to profit lift February 5, 2014 UK PHARMA giant GlaxoSmithKline brushed off worries over the Chinese bribery scandal yesterday, announcing sales growth for the end of last year and a bullish forecast for 2014. Revenues should climb by two per cent this year, Glaxo expects, driving earnings per share growth of between four and eight per cent. The company, Britain’s largest [...]
DMGT shares hit 13-year high as Zoopla eyes float February 5, 2014 PROPERTY search website and app Zoopla is heading towards a London initial public offering (IPO) after its majority owner, the Daily Mail & General Trust (DMGT), yesterday confirmed Zoopla’s board was considering “strategic options” for the company. Shares in DMGT rose to a 13-year high after the news emerged and closed up five per cent [...]
London Report: FTSE pares back losses after RSA and Glaxo rally February 5, 2014 THE UK’S top top equity index snapped a five-day losing streak yesterday, lifted by rallies in insurer RSA and pharma group GlaxoSmithKline. Shares in RSA rose 4.6 per cent on expectations its new chief executive Stephen Hester, credited with salvaging RBS, would help turn around the insurer, which is struggling with a £200m pound ($330m) [...]
Ocado founder Gissing to leave as sales increase February 4, 2014 OCADO’s Jason Gissing is to step down, leaving chief executive Tim Steiner as the only co-founder still at the grocer, which posted sales growth of 15 per cent yesterday. Despite growing revenues, the firm suffered a pre-tax loss of £12.5m for the year to 1 December, compared with £600,000 the previous year. The group said [...]
TalkTalk customer base hits 4m as it signs new Sky Sports deal February 4, 2014 TALKTALK will begin offering its customers £9.99 pay-per-day access to Sky’s sport channels as part of a new three year wholesale deal with the satellite broadcaster. The deal was announced along with TalkTalk’s third quarter results which showed a 5.1 per cent year-on-year increase in revenue to £436m, and 175,000 new TV customers during the [...]