Former Virgin Media exec Eamonn O’Hare plots telecoms raid March 4, 2015 The man who engineered Virgin Media’s $24bn (£15bn) blockbuster sale to Liberty Global has unveiled ambitious plans to take advantage of frenzied deal activity in Europe’s telecoms market. Ex-Virgin Media finance boss Eamonn O’Hare’s dramatic comeback, revealed last night, will involve raising cash in London to snap up struggling telecoms assets across the continent. [...]
London luxury fashion company Farfetch valued at $1bn as it raises $86m March 4, 2015 Online luxury fashion company Farfetch has been valued at $1bn (£656m) after completing a round of investment led by software company DST Global. The firm raised $86m, with existing shareholders Conde Nast International and Vitruvian Partners also participating, taking the total amount raised by the company at over $195m. London-based Farfetch was established in 2008, [...]
FTSE 100 and 250 quarterly review: Hikma, AA, Virgin Money Holdings and Imagination Technologies Group are in and Afren, Game Digital and Oxford Instruments are out March 4, 2015 The FTSE Group has released its quarterly review showing which companies have edged into the index and which have dropped out. Hikma Pharmaceuticals made its way into the FTSE 100 while Tullow Oil has fallen out of the top index. Hikma floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2005. Tullow will now join the FTSE [...]
Eurocell IPO: Shares trade above initial offer price March 4, 2015 Shares in Eurocell traded up today after the window and door maker's debut onto the London Stock Exchange. The Derbyshire-based firm, spun off by private equity group H2 Equity Partners, priced its shares at 175p, valuing it at £175m. But the company's shares were about 5.7 per cent higher in late afternoon trading, at 185p. "We have [...]
Fresnillo share price sheds as much as six per cent after pre-tax profit falls 40 per cent March 4, 2015 The figures Fresnillo said revenue fell 12.5 per cent to $1.41bn in the year ending December 2014, down from $1.6bn a year earlier. Pre-tax profit at the precious metals producer fell 40 per cent to $251m primarily due to plummeting silver and gold prices, as well as higher production costs. The company's share price slumped as [...]
Tesco hires BP vice president Byron Grote March 4, 2015 BP director and vice president Byron Grote is joining Tesco's board as the troubled supermarket looks to bolster its financial experience. Grote, who has been at BP since it acquired Standard Oil of Ohio in 1987, joins the Tesco board on May 1 as a non-executive director. The grocer said he brought “extensive executive [...]
Standard Chartered share price rises as boss Peter Sands gives up bonus March 4, 2015 Shares in troubled bank Standard Chartered were up six per cent this morning, despite reporting a sharp drop in pre-tax profits. Investor optimism was clearly high, as outgoing boss Peter Sands, who, it was revealed last week, will be replaced by Bill Winters, announced he and the rest of the board will forego their bonuses. [...]
Tasty: Greggs is on a roll with 41pc profit jump March 4, 2015 The figures Pre-tax profit at Greggs for the full year to the start of January jumped 41 per cent to £58.3m on sales of £804m, a rise of 5.5 per cent, as market conditions improved. The baker, which has 1,650 stores across the UK, said like-for-like store sales grew 4.5 per cent in comparison to [...]
ITV share price jumps on double-digit growth and £250m special dividend payout – but audiences continue falling March 4, 2015 The figures ITV's shares shot up five per cent in early trading as revenue climbed eight per cent to £2.6bn in 2014 and adjusted pre-tax profit jumped 23 per cent to £712m. The UK's largest broadcaster will pay out a special dividend of £250m to shareholders, or 6.25 pence per share. That's in addition to a 3.3 [...]
Regus targets universities and libraries as operating profits soar March 3, 2015 Regus said yesterday it planned to bridge the gap between higher education and working life by launching offices in universities and public libraries. The serviced office provider signed its first deal with Helsinki University last year and has also partnered with the Singapore Government to open facilities within their public libraries. It is now eyeing [...]